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MOST  REVEREND  GEORGE  W.  MUNDELEIN,  D.  D. 
ARCHBISHOP  OF  CHICAGO 


Two  Crowded  Years 


Being  Selected  Addresses,  Pastorals,  and  Letters 

Issued  During  the  First  Twenty-four 

Months  of  the  Episcopate 


of  the 

,IHast  J\ctt.  (laconic  William  .Jttimbeleitt,  P.  P., 

as  Archbishop   of  Chicago 


Foreword  by  the  Right  Rev.  Francis  C.  Kelley,  D.  D. 


CHICAGO 

EXTENSION    PRESS 
1918 


M 


Archbishop  Mundelein 


A  Foreword  by 
Monsignor  Kelley 

There  is  never  a  lack  of  work  to  do 
in  a  great  archdiocese,  but  very  often 
there  is  a  lack  of  the  things  with  which 
to  do  it.  I  should  not  have  said  "work", 
but  "works",  for  it  is  the  multiplicity 
of  calls  to  labor  that  is  the  chief  est  of 
difficulties  facing  the  responsible  high 
priest  and  pastor  of  souls.  No  one  can 
build  a  house  without  materials.  No 
one  can  respond  to  the  call  to  do  great 
things  for  God  without  supplies,  far 
harder  to  get  than  brick  and  mortar. 
One  of  these  necessities  is  the  good 
will  of  others,  a  sure  forerunner  of 
generosity. 

Two  years  is  not  a  long  period  of  rule, 
but  two  years  well  prepared  for  may 
be  made  to  stand,  in  actual  achievement, 
as  equal  to  ten  or  even  twenty.  To  pre- 
pare well  for  two  intensive  years  of 
many  labors  is  to  have  labored  all  one's 


previous  life,  to  have  been  made  fit  by 
smaller  tasks  for  the  greater  ones ;  but, 
above  all,  to  have  formed  one's  qual- 
ities of  heart,  mind  and  soul  so  strongly 
that  character  makes  easy  the  gaining 
of  good  will.  The  rest  follows. 

Never  did  bishop  come  to  his  flock 
more  of  a  complete  stranger  than  did 
Archbishop  Mundelein  to  the  million 
and  a  quarter  Catholics  of  the  Arch- 
diocese of  Chicago,  and  the  people  of 
the  Central  West.  He  had  never  seen 
the  vast  West.  He  had  never  set  foot 
on  the  pavements  of  its  greatest  city. 
He  was  practically  unknown  to  his  en- 
tire clergy  except  by  name.  That  name 
had  never  been  even  vaguely  hinted  at 
in  connection  with  the  choice  of  a  suc- 
cessor to  the  late  lamented  Archbishop 
Quigley.  By  the  choice  of  the  Holy 
Father,  and  the  Holy  Father  alone, 
Archbishop  Mundelein  came  to  his  life's 
great  labors — but  he  was  ready  for 
them.  Already  a  consecrated  bishop, 
he  had  experience  as  a  pastor,  as  a 
college  director,  as  a  chancellor,  as  a 
builder,  as  an  organizer,  even  as  a 
newspaper  man;  and  out  of  this  expe- 
rience he  had  learned  the  great  lesson — 
how  to  gain  good  will,  the  first  necessity 


iv 


if  one  is  to  find  the  things  with  which 
works  are  to  be  done. 

Archbishop  Mundelein  did  not  find  it 
hard  to  secure  his  materials.  No  one 
who  could  help  him  failed  to  see  that 
his  devotion  was  for  the  cause  and  not 
for  himself.  That  sort  of  devotion 
always  wins  friends  and  helpers.  He 
was  never  afraid  to  ask,  because  he 
was  never  asking  selfishly.  When  he 
spoke  it  was  always  for  the  cause  he 
had  to  champion,  for  the  country,  for 
the  state,  for  the  city.  People  under- 
stand this  kind  of  devotion  and  respond 
to  it.  So  the  materials  came  and  the 
works  went  on. 

But  Archbishop  Mundelein  was  never 
over-confident,  for  he  neglected  noth- 
ing. Even  this  book  has  its  task.  The 
Archbishop  consented  to  its  publication 
on  one  condition:  that  it  should  produce 
materials  for  one  of  the  works.  So  he 
selected  a  poor  parish  in  the  Archdio- 
cese that  needed  outside  help  and  to 
that  parish  he  gave  the  royalties  from 
the  sale  of  the  book.  Everything  has  to 
be  turned  into  a  help.  Thus  a  poor 
school  will  absorb  all  the  royalties  the 
Archbishop  might  justly  claim  for  him- 
self. 


The  above  may  well  make  those  who 
wonder  at  the  success  of  the  Arch- 
bishop's first  two  years  in  Chicago 
understand  that  there  is  really  nothing 
to  be  wondered  at  after  all.  Even 
though  his  appointment  to  Chicago  was 
a  surprise,  the  biggest  of  all  to  himself, 
he  was  ready  for  it  when  it  came.  He 
had  built  up  the  character  of  a  captain, 
and  had  nothing  to  do  but  assume  the 
uniform  and  step  onto  the  bridge.  He 
was  out  on  the  great  lake  before  he 
knew  of  the  change;  and  was  at  home 
there  as  much  as  he  had  been  at  home 
on  the  peaceful  river.  The  green  shores 
of  the  river  had  long  been  for  him  a 
glad  content  as  he  sailed  along;  but, 
now  that  they  were  far  off,  he  did  not 
miss  them  after  the  first  parting.  The 
indigo  mountains  behind  them  were  his 
friends  of  old ;  but  even  on  the  lake  they 
loomed  up  in  the  distance,  turned  to 
grey,  and  were  still  inspiration  to  great 
deeds.  Peaceful  ripples  changed  to 
rocking  waves;  but  there  is  nothing  to 
fear  when  the  Captain  has  learned 
wisely  and  well.  There  is  a  new  crew; 
but  crews  often  change,  and  it  is  not  the 
crew  that  counts,  but  the  successful  end 
of  the  voyage. 


Every  ship  carries  her  log,  which  is 
the  story  of  the  ship's  voyages  and  ac- 
complishments. This  book,  containing 
appeals,  counsels,  prayers  and  exhorta- 
tions to  labor,  is  a  copious  extract  from 
the  log  of  Archbishop  Mundelein's  com- 
mand for  two  years.  Like  a  ship's  log, 
it  tells  the  story  better  than  any  indi- 
vidual could  tell  it;  for  the  captain 
wrote  the  log  not  to  praise  himself, 
never  dreaming  that  it  would  be  pub- 
lished, and  thus  unconsciously  wrote  it 
in  the  very  best  way. 

This  "log"  gives  the  sympathetic 
reader  an  idea  of  the  many  duties  and 
responsibilities  incident  to  the  govern- 
ing of  a  great  diocese.  It  begins  with 
farewells  that  have  "heart"  in  them. 
The- Archbishop  had  but  one  parish  in 
all  his  priestly  life.  For  that  parish  he 
worked  in  the  intervals  between  his 
calls  to  duty  as  Auxiliary-Bishop  and 
Chancellor  of  the  Diocese  of  Brooklyn, 
head  of  the  Preparatory  Seminary, 
founder  of  a  seaside  parish,  and  Chair- 
man of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
diocesan  paper.  There  were  minor 
duties,  too,  claiming  time  and  atten- 
tion. The  immediate  work  for  souls  in 
the  Cathedral  Chapel  parish  was  his 


vil 


pride  and  joy.  There  he  built  a  monu- 
ment to  the  glory  of  God,  the  devotion 
of  his  people,  and  his  own  zeal  and  ar- 
tistic taste.  The  people  of  the  parish 
wanted  a  church  building;  the  pastor 
wanted  a  school,  but  knew  how  to  com- 
promise with  two  great  necessities,  and 
satisfy  both  the  demands  of  his  flock 
and  the  wishes  of  his  own  heart.  He 
built  both  church  and  school,  and  even 
a  rectory — all  in  one.  Such  buildings 
are  usually  anything  but  attractive. 
Archbishop  Mundelein's  building  is  an 
artistic  triumph.  Its  wonderful  French- 
Gothic  lines  attract  students  of  archi- 
tecture from  far  and  wide.  They  come 
to  admire  and  to  study.  The  building  is 
the  purest  specimen  of  its  kind  in 
Brooklyn,  which  is  known  as  "The  City 
of  Churches."  The  Archbishop  became 
Captain  in  his  own  right;  he  had  to  say 
his  word  of  farewell  to  the  faithful 
crew  who  manned  his  parish  ship.  That 
farewell  is  a  model  of  touching  kindness 
and  affection ;  but  it  was  not  entirely  a 
farewell,  since,  in  the  beautiful  build- 
ing, he  was  leaving  a  monument  that 
would  always  speak  of  his  constant  in- 
terest in  his  first  parish.  The  monument 
was  a  part  of  himself,  left  behind. 


viU 


To  the  clergy  of  Brooklyn  Archbish- 
op Mundelein  had  never  been  a  superior 
in  the  full  sense  of  the  word;  but  had 
always  been  a  friend  and  counsellor. 
As  the  "first  officer"  stands  between 
captain  and  crew,  he  stood  a  friend  to 
bishop  and  clergy.  He  had  never  been 
looked  upon  by  the  priests  as  one  who 
had  left  their  ranks  to  go  higher;  but 
as  one  who  had  gone  higher  without 
leaving  their  ranks,  and  now  exerted 
a  sort  of  pref  ectship.  Such  an  intimate 
relation  could  not  be  broken  without 
pain.  Its  presence  is  felt  in  the  Arch- 
bishop's farewell  to  the  priests;  but 
there  is  something  else  besides.  There 
is  a  note  of  genuine  loyalty  to  his  for- 
mer superior  in  it,  and  an  expression  of 
affection  for  the  captain  and  the  ship 
from  which  he  was  stepping  to  higher 
command,  which  explain  a  great  deal 
in  the  Archbishop's  successful  career. 

Just  as  striking  were  the  new  Arch- 
bishop's words  in  Chicago,  especially 
to  his  priests.  The  crew  of  a  ship  never 
take  any  part  in  the  selection  of  their 
captain.  Even  the  officers  may  claim 
no  right  to  fill  this  commanding  posi- 
tion when  it  becomes  vacant.  The  own- 
ers, their  representatives,  or  the  admi- 


ral  of  the  fleet,  have  that  duty  and  re- 
sponsibility. But  the  very  fact  that 
officers  and  crew  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  selection  of  a  new  captain 
makes  them  the  more  anxious  to  see 
and  hear  the  one  selected  for  them  by 
higher  authority.  So  much  depends, 
for  wholehearted  co-operation,  on  the 
impression  made  by  wise  words  and 
actions  at  the  beginning  that  superiors 
have  been  known  to  blast  all  their 
chances  of  success  for  want  of  them. 
The  initial  words  of  a  superior  are  not 
spoken  only  for  a  day:  they  are  words 
that  live  during  the  whole  period  of  his 
rule.  The  Church  charges  the  Supreme 
Pontiff  with  the  duty  and  responsibility 
of  selecting  her  bishops.  She  gives  au- 
thority generously  into  their  hands,  for 
she  trusts  them.  Every  care  is  taken 
in  making  selections'-  for,  once  made, 
rarely  are  they  recalled.  In  sickness 
and  in  health,  in  sorrow  and  in  joy,  in 
darkness  and  in  sunshine,  the  bishop 
remains  with  his  flock.  His  part  of  the 
Church  Universal  is  to  him  a  spouse: 
and  he  must  cleave  to  her,  as  she  must 
cleave  to  him,  until  death.  Ships'  cap- 
tains frequently  change,  but  the  change- 
less Church,  even  in  the  tenure  of  of- 


fice  of  her  captains,  gives  plain  indica- 
tions of  her  character.  Because  of  these 
things,  the  first  words  of  a  bishop  to 
his  flock  are  words  of  singular  fateful- 
ness — to  himself,  to  his  ministry,  to  his 
clergy,  to  his  people. 

The  promise  of  Archbishop  Munde- 
lein's  administration  is  clearly  outlined 
in  his  first  address,  delivered  in  the  Holy 
Name  Cathedral:  loyalty  to  his  own 
superiors,  fidelity  to  his  charge,  appre- 
ciation of  meritorious  service,  respect 
and  admiration  for  his  predecessors, 
humility  before  his  great  tasks,  deter- 
mination to  do  his  best,  confidence  that 
God's  grace  will  not  fail  him,  anxiety 
to  deserve  and  win  co-operation  from 
his  clergy,  and  a  full  knowledge  of  the 
value,  above  all  else,  of  the  prayers  of 
his  people.  These  things  shine  out  in 
his  first  address  like  white  jewels 
against  a  background  of  dark  velvet. 
The  task  of  a  ruler  of  such  a  great  dio- 
cese as  Chicago  is  soft  only  to  the  care- 
less touch;  beneath  is  the  hard-fibred 
cloth  that  holds  the  silken  pile,  and 
there  is  no  cheerfulness  in  its  texture. 

There  is  an  intimate  relation  between 
the  passengers,  the  officers  and  the  cap- 
tain of  every  ship ;  for  while  the  former 


have  no  duties  of  management  and  nav- 
igation, yet  in  times  of  danger  much 
depends  on  their  self-discipline,  their 
co-operation,  their  loyalty.  Captain 
and  officers  are  charged  with  guarding 
the  safety  of  the  passengers,  and  in 
fidelity  to  this  task  lies  their  own  and 
the  crew's  safety.  The  unwritten  law 
of  the  sea  says  that  when  the  ship  is  in 
grave  danger  the  officers  shall  be  the 
last  body  to  leave,  and,  of  that  body,  the 
captain  the  last  of  all.  So  it  must  be 
in  the  Church.  By  the  happy  simile  of 
Christ  Himself  is  the  law  laid  down: 
"The  good  shepherd  giveth  his  life  for 
his  sheep."  Archbishop  Mundelein's 
first  direct  message  to  the  clergy  of  his 
diocese  was  a  message  to  inspire  a  fine 
morale. 

It  is  the  vogue  amongst  those  outside 
of  the  pale  of  the  Catholic  Church  to 
admire  her  wonderful  organization,  and 
salute  her  as  the  greatest  of  human  in- 
stitutions. It  never  occurs  to  them 
that,  on  the  side  of  faith  and  morals, 
the  wonder  of  the  Church  is  explained 
by  the  fact  that  she  is  not  human,  but 
divine.  She  is  built  upon  the  authority 
of  God  Himself,  Who  gave  to  His  Son, 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  mission  of 


xii 


bringing  her  into  existence,  and  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  the  work  of  teaching  her 
"all  things"  and  remaining  with  her 
"forever." 

It  was  Christ  Himself  Who  chose  St. 
Peter  to  rule  over  her  and,  "being  con- 
verted," to  confirm  "his  brethren."  It 
was  Peter  who  first,  after  Christ,  gov- 
erned the  Church  which  he  had  found- 
ed. It  was  through  the  successors  of 
Peter  that  the  authority  to  teach  was 
preserved;  but  the  Power  that  pre- 
served it  was  that  of  the  Most  High. 
The  long  and  venerable  succession  of 
Eoman  Pontiffs  challenges  the  admira- 
tion of  the  world;  but  that  admiration- 
is  less  for  the  men  who  successively 
grasped  the  keys  than  for  the  provi- 
dence and  love  of  God  by  Whom  they 
were  directed.  Loyalty,  affection  and 
obedience  are  due  the  successor  of  St. 
Peter,  the  Vicar  of  Christ.  The  Arch- 
bishop sounded  these  notes  admirably 
in  all  his  utterances  on  the  Holy  Father. 

The  subsequent  utterances  of  the 
Archbishop  show  his  wide  sympathies, 
his  genuine  pariotism,  and  his  practi- 
cal leadership.  They  show  the  man,  and 
explain  his  two  years  of  marvelous  suc- 


xiil 


cess  in  one  of  the  greatest  sees  of  the 
Christian  world.  He  has  won  his  way 
just  as  surely  as  his  way  has  won  him. 
Coming  a  stranger  to  the  West,  he  is  a 
stranger  no  longer.  He  loves  his  new 
home  as  strongly  as  he  loved  his  old 
one — more  strongly  if  that  be  possible. 
In  the  West  he  has  had  his  opportunity, 
and  has  not  hesitated  about  grasping  it. 
The  West  gave  him  a  chance  to  realize 
his  dreams  of  work  for  God.  He  found 
its  priests  and  people  as  anxious  to  co- 
operate as  he  was  to  work  and  lead. 
"They  do  not  wait  to  be  asked,"  he  said 
of  them,  "but  come  to  know  what  they 
can  do."  Out  of  the  spirit  of  the  West 
the  Archbishop  has  already  builded  his 
new  monuments,  is  building  them  to- 
day, and  will  keep  on  building  them  in 
the  future.  Already  the  Preparatory 
Seminary  rivals  in  beauty  the  magnifi- 
cent Cathedral  Chapel  of  Brooklyn. 
The  land  is  ready  for  the  Grand  Sem- 
inary. The  diocesan  charities  are  or- 
ganized. The  Archdiocese  has,  through 
him,  its  proper  place — first  in  the 
world's  offerings  to  the  Vicar  of  Christ. 
The  poor  and  the  orphan  are  housed. 
New  schools  are  built;  Catholic  educa- 


siv 


tion  is  properly  directed;  and  every 
worthy  work  flourishes. 

Someone,  when  welcoming  Arch- 
bishop Mundelein  two  years  ago,  quoted 
one  stanza  from  the  poems  of  Douglas 
Mallock,  which  seemed  particularly 
appropriate  then,  and  which  all  Chi- 
cago hoped  would  prove  prophetic.  I 
quote  it  now  to  show  that  the  hope  has 
already  been  realized: 
"There  in  the  East;  we  dreamed  the 
dreams 

Of  the  things  we  hoped  to  do ; 
But  here  in  the  West,  the  crimson  West, 

The  dreams  of  the  East  come  true." 


Part  I 

ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 


Farewell  Address  to  the  People  of  the  Cathedral 

Chapel  Parish,  Brooklyn,  New  York, 

January  31st,  1916 

Have  you  ever  heard  a  fond  parent 
speak  of  a  dutiful  child  when  it  came 
to  the  time  of  parting:  "I  never  raised 
a  hand  to  him.  I  never  had  to  scold 
him"?  That  is  precisely  the  tribute  I 
must  pay  to  the  chapel  people,  now  that 
I  am  about  to  leave  them.  The  Chapel 
has  been  like  a  splendid,  generous,  well- 
behaved  and  loving  child  that  responded 
to  every  call,  that  was  always  obedient, 
unselfish  and  kind,  that  was  never  re- 
proved or  scolded  once  during  the  six 
and  a  half  years  it  was  under  my  pa- 
rental care.  And  now  when  I  go  away 
from  you,  I  go  away  with  not  a  single 
unpleasant  recollection,  without  the 
memory  of  a  single  bitter  moment,  with 
only  the  remembrance  of  six  splendid 
years  of  friendship,  of  satisfaction,  of 
success.  You  have  been  an  inspiration 
to  me  in  my  happiest  years;  you  have 
strengthened  my  faith  in  the  great 


18  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

worth  of  our  laity;  you  have  been  evi- 
dence that  the  spirit  of  our  crusader 
ancestors  has  not  withered  away  with 
the  passing  of  time;  you  have  made  a 
new  record  for  generous  faith  which 
will  not  soon  be  surpassed;  you  have 
given  to  the  Lord  and  to  His  house  with 
such  a  measure  of  liberality  as  has  ex- 
cited wonder  and  admiration.  I  do  not 
think  I  shall  ever  again  see  such  liberal 
response  to  priests'  or  bishops'  appeal 
as  was  yours.  So,  going  away,  I  leave 
two  things  with  you, — the  knowledge 
that  your  name  and  fame  have  gone 
abroad  over  the  land  for  what  you  have 
done;  and  secondly,  the  belief  that  in 
this  country  of  ours  there  is  no  church 
or  chapel  as  pretty,  as  devotional,  as 
artistic  as  yours.  Just  think  for  a 
moment  what  we  have  done  in  six  years. 
Six  years  ago  we  had  the  little  old 
chapel  and  no  school ;  we  had  practically 
nothing  in  the  treasury.  Today,  besides 
our  beautiful  church,  we  have  a  com- 
plete parish-school  with  a  splendid 
teaching-staff  of  Brothers  and  Sisters 
second  to  no  other  teachers  in  the  coun- 
try. We  have  an  auditorium  of  which 
we  are  proud,  well-equipped  for  every 
purpose  of  education  or  entertainment. 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  19 

Our  teaching  Brothers  have  a  well- 
furnished  monastery  of  their  own ;  and 
finally,  we  have,  on  the  way  to  comple- 
tion, a  rectory  that  will  accommodate 
six  priests,  if  necessary,  with  every 
comfort  and  convenience.  Our  building 
operations  have  cost  more  than  half  a 
million  dollars,  and  of  this  amount  over 
three  hundred  thousand  dollars  has 
been  raised  and  paid  out  during  this 
time.  Sixty  thousand  dollars  of  this 
sum  were  contributed  by  a  gentleman 
formerly  connected  with  the  parish, 
who  wishes  to  remain  unnamed  andi 
unknown  to  all  but  myself. 

The  result,  moreover,  has  been 
progress  all  along  the  line.  We 
have  our  various  societies  and  par- 
ish activities;  all  are  well  attended. 
I  know  but  two  families  whose  chil- 
dren are  not  in  our  schools  or  in 
some  Catholic  private  school.  Our  pew- 
list  is  the  second  largest  in  the  city. 
Our  children  well-behaved,  respectful, 
edifying.  Our  priests,  brothers  and 
sisters  are  harmonious,  zealous,  oblig- 
ing. Nobody  wants  to  leave  us.  Our 
various  parochial  services  are  attrac- 
tive, because  the  church  is  clean  and 
commodious.  Our  music  is  devotional 


20  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

and  inspiring.  Our  priests  are  willing 
and  conscientious.  Just  when  I  was 
getting  everything  to  that  satisfactory 
stage  that  I  desired,  suddenly  the  Holy 
See  calls  me  and  sends  me  far  away.  I 
have  received  the  official  documents; 
the  Sacred  Pallium  has  arrived;  and 
within  a  week  I  go  to  the  new  field  of 
labor  assigned  to  me.  Before  I  do  go, 
however,  I  have  two  things  to  say  to 
you — a  double  duty  to  perform  here. 
In  the  first  place,  during  all  these 
years,  I  have  ever  insisted  that  the 
great  work  here  was  yours,  the  credit 
yours,  not  mine, — I  was  only  part  of 
you — that  the  progress  was  due  to 
your  splendid  parochial  spirit.  I 
still  insist  that  this  is  true.  I  want 
you  to  bear  me  out.  I  do  not  know 
who  is  going  to  be  your  pastor; 
but  whoever  he  is,  his  path  will  not 
be  too  easy  for  a  while.  He  will  be 
different  from  me.  He  may  have  his 
own  methods.  Perhaps  these  methods 
in  the  end  will  be  better  than  mine. 
Now,  I  would  ask  you  to  be  kind  to  him, 
considerate  of  him.  There  is  a  heavy 
debt  here.  For  me  it  would  not  have 
amounted  to  much,  for  I  knew  you  and 
knew  what  you  could  do.  I  started  out 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  21 

with  the  idea,  too,  that  one  generation 
should  not  pay  for  everything.  But  it 
will  not  be  so  easy  for  him,  for  every- 
thing is  built  now,  and  it  is  harder  to 
pay  off  debts  than  to  get  money  while 
building.  I  never  thought  I  was  ever 
to  be  taken  away  from  Brooklyn  except 
by  death ;  otherwise  I  might  have  gone 
slower.  So  for  my  sake,  to  show  the 
city  and  the  diocese  that  you  are  the 
great  parish  I  said  you  were,  stand  by 
him  and  support  him.  When  he  appeals 
to  you,  help  him  all  you  can.  Just  look 
around  you  and  see  what  you  have,  and, 
if  he  asks  you  to  do  more  than  your 
neighbors,  bear  in  mind  you  have  more 
than  your  neighbors.  In  the  second 
place,  I  want  to  thank  you  for  what 
you  have  done  during  these  years,  and 
to  assure  you  that  I  can  never  forget 
you.  The  Chapel  will  always  be  first 
in  my  affection,  because  I  shall  never 
be  as  close  to  a  people  as  I  have  been  to 
you.  You  are  my  first  and  my  only 
parish.  Nor — I  repeat  it — will  a  people 
again  do  what  you  have  done.  I  will 
think  of  you  as  proudly  and  as  fondly 
as  a  parent  of  an  absent,  dutiful  child. 
I  want  to  thank  you  for  what  you 
have  given  to  me  personally,  the  respect 


22  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

you  have  shown,  the  consideration  you 
have  had,  the  gifts  you  have  made  to 
me.  Generous  you  were  as  individuals, 
generous  as  a  parish.  I  am  glad  to  re- 
ceive from  you  the  archbishop's  ring:  it 
will  always  remind  me  of  you :  it  is  the 
principal  outward  sign  of  my  high 
office:  it  is  always  in  sight:  it  will  ever 
make  me  remember — could  I  forget? — 
the  people  who  were  my  people,  the 
children  who  were  my  children,  the 
parish  that  was  mine.  I  will  not  say 
good-bye,  for  I  am  coming  back  from 
time  to  time,  and  I  hope  I  shall  never 
be  a  stranger  to  you,  a  stranger  to  your 
thoughts,  a  stranger  to  your  prayers. 
And  I  will  not  forget  that  my  duty  to 
pray  for  you  does  not  cease  because  I 
leave  you;  but,  should  I  forget,  your 
ring  will  remind  me.  I  will  ask  the 
Lord  to  stay  with  you,  to  bless  you  and 
your  children,  and  so  make  this  parish 
one  of  the  happiest  spots  in  His  vine- 
yard. 


Farewell  Address  to  the  Clergy  of  the  Diocese 
of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  February  2nd,  1916 

Tonight  forms  the  fitting  climax  of 
the  past  twenty  years.  They  have  been 
years  replete  with  favors,  with  kind- 
ness, with  consideration.  I  have  passed 
them  all  in  closest  touch  with  the  clergy 
of  this  diocese.  I  have  known  them,  the 
priests  of  Brooklyn,  better  than  any  one 
else  could  know  them,  better  perhaps 
than  their  own  bishop  could  know  them, 
because  I  was  closer  to  them  and  they 
were  more  frank,  more  open  with  me. 
The  older  priests  have  been  my  friends 
who  often  came  to  me  for  advice.  Many 
of  those  of  my  own  age  were  my  class- 
mates.. Others  had  come  to  me  with 
their  troubles.  The  younger  men  re- 
member me  as  the  guardian  of  the 
portals  of  the  Seminary;  and  the  young- 
est recall  the  day  when  they  received 
from  my  hands  their  Minor  and  their 
Sacred  Orders.  With  all  of  them  there 
was  some  bond  to  link  me  to  them,  some 
event  in  their  lives  in  which  I  had  played 
a  part.  All  my  own  priestly  life  was 
spent  here,  and  I  can  assure  you  with- 
out any  reserve,  that  life  has  been  most 
happy,  its  days  full  of  consolation,  its 


24  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

relations  with  all  the  most  pleasant.  So 
when,  on  the  last  day  of  last  November, 
the  summons  came  that  takes  me  away 
from  this  clergy  here,  I  knew  I  was  not 
the  only  one  who  felt  sad  at  the  pros- 
pect of  parting.  I  know  that  the  bishop 
who  was  my  superior  and  friend  felt 
sad ;  the  priests  who  had  been  brothers, 
comrades,  friends,  felt  sad,  because  I 
was  not  to  stay  with  them  longer. 

As  for  myself,  but  a  few  months  ago  I 
never  dreamt  I  was  to  leave  Brooklyn ; 
but  once  I  learned  the  Holy  Father 
himself  had  called  me,  I  put  aside  every 
personal  sentiment,  all  feelings  of  re- 
gret; and  I  go  to  my  new  field  of  labor 
just  as  cheerfully  as  I  attempted  every 
other  venture.  The  lessons  I  have 
learned  here  in  Brooklyn  will  stand  me 
in  good  stead.  The  problems  I  am  to 
meet  in  Chicago  will  be  pretty  much  the 
same  problems  that  I  have  met  here  in 
my  years  in  the  Chancery  Office,  at  my 
sessions  about  the  Consultors'  table,  in 
my  dealings  with  you.  I  go  away  with 
the  pleasantest  recollections  of  you; 
and  I  know  you  will  keep  the  kindest 
memories  of  me  in  your  hearts.  For 
many  of  you  I  have  been  in  a  position 
to  make  the  way  easier.  Others  of  you 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  25 

have  entrusted  to  me  confidences  that 
have  ever  been  kept  inviolate.  With 
all  I  have  preserved  friendly  relations. 
Going  away  from  you,  I  have  the  satis- 
faction of  knowing  that  I  tried  to  act 
fairly,  and  that  I  have  not  injured  any 
of  my  fellow-priests  for  personal  or 
selfish  reasons.  But  one  thing  must  be 
remembered:  The  responsibility  dur- 
ing all  this  time  was  not  mine ;  it  rested 
on  other  shoulders.  The  honors  were 
mine,  the  dignity  was  mine,  even  the 
work  might  be  mine,  but  the  burden 
was  on  others.  That  was  why  I  could 
afford  to  be  happy  and  have,  as  I  really 
did  have,  a  good  time.  Nor  was  I  look- 
ing for  any  change.  You  know  as  well 
as  I  dp  that  I  was  satisfied  as  I  was. 
Now  all  that  is  changed.  Suddenly, 
without  warning,  a  million  souls  are 
handed  over  to  me.  I  am  sent  to  the 
place  on  which  the  searchlight  is  ever 
trained,  to  the  diocese  which  is  growing 
perhaps  faster  than  any  other  in  the 
country,  to  a  stronghold  of  the  faith, 
to  a  post  of  the  greatest  responsibility, 
to  a  city  that  has  many  problems  to  be 
solved,  many  works  to  be  inaugurated, 
many  structures  to  be  built.  It  is  a 
prospect  that  might  cause  the  stoutest 


26  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

heart  to  flinch,  the  bravest  man  to 
falter,  for,  in  Chicago  above  all,  so 
much  depends  upon  the  man, — their 
archbishop  means  so  much  to  the  West ! 
And  yet  let  me  say  to  you,  my  friends 
and  fellow-priests,  I  go  there  with  a 
full  realization  of  what  it  means,  but 
without  any  fear  for  the  outcome.  I 
am  going  there  full  of  courage,  full  of 
hope,  full  of  confidence.  I  am  not 
going  to  fail,  for  this  is  a  case  where 
the  position  was  not  sought.  I  did  not 
ask  to  go,  I  was  not  asked  whether  I 
would  go.  It  is  simply  "vos  non  elegis- 
tis  me,  sed  ego  elegi  vos".  I  am  just 
old-fashioned  enough  to  believe  that 
God  can  do  what  He  wants  to,  as  He 
wants  to,  and  through  whom  He  wants 
to ;  and  I  am  just  an  instrument  in  His 
hands  now  to  do  what  He  wants  to  do. 
I  say  this  to  explain  to  you  why  it  is 
that  I  do  not  feel  gloomy  or  sad  or  sor- 
rowful in  leaving  you.  I  believe  in 
practising  what  we  all  preach.  In  the 
past  six  years  I  told  eighty  thousand 
children  that  their  first  duty  as  Chris- 
tian soldiers  was  to  be  obedient  to  their 
superiors;  and  now  my  turn  has  come 
to  show  myself  as  good  a  soldier  as  any 
of  them.  You  know  me  well  enough  to 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  27 

know  that  the  honor  of  the  place  does 
not  appeal  to  me.  The  one  thing  that 
does  appeal  to  me,  is  that  an  oppor- 
tunity to  do  big  things,  such  as  has 
rarely  been  given  to  any  man,  is  given 
to  me.  One  thing  I  would  recommend 
to  you:  since  your  bishop  is  mine  no 
longer  (and  he  is  going  to  miss  me  in 
many  ways),  I  would  ask  you,  his 
clergy,  to  supply  my  place  by  making 
things  easy  for  him  until  he  has  some 
one  to  take  my  place.  He  is  no  longer  a 
young  man ;  he  is  not  quite  a  well  man. 
He  requires  more  kindness  from  his 
clergy  now  than  ever:  that  is  the  one 
favor  I  would  ask  of  you.  I  will  not 
say  good-bye  to  you.  Come  to  Chicago 
and  say  good-bye  to  me  there.  But 
count  'me  part  of  you  still.  My  happiest 
years  were  spent  with  you.  I  could  not 
forget  you  if  I  would.  For  twenty 
years  I  have  received  nothing  but 
favors,  nothing  but  kindness  from  you 
all.  Tonight  is  but  the  culmination,  the 
climax  of  it.  I  had  hoped  to  end  my 
days  with  you,  after  years  of  useful- 
ness in  your  midst,  but  the  Lord  has 
willed  otherwise — Fiat  voluntas  tua! 


Installation  Allocution  in  the  Cathedral  of  The 
Holy  Name,  Chicago,  in  the  Presence  of  His 
Excellency,  the  Apostolic  Delegate,  the 
Bishops  of  the  Province,  and  Vis- 
iting Prelates,  February 
9th,  1916 

Your  Excellency:  Let  my  first  act, 
after  taking  possession  of  this  Met- 
ropolitan Church  of  Chicago,  be  to 
welcome  among  us  the  representative 
of  our  Holy  Father.  To  him,  our  Sov- 
ereign Pontiff,  I  pledge  for  myself,  for 
my  clergy,  and  for  my  people,  absolute, 
unswerving  loyalty,  obedience,  and  de- 
votion. His  word  is  our  law,  his  wish 
our  command,  his  welfare  our  personal 
concern.  In  him  we  recognize  Christ's 
Vicar  on  earth,  the  infallible  teacher 
of  divine  truth,  the  keeper  of  the  keys 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  To  him 
and  to  his  predecessors  in  the  chair  of 
Peter,  I  am  bound  by  the  closest  ties  of 
gratitude.  The  great  Leo  blessed  me 
as  a  young  priest  and  sent  me  forth  on 
my  mission ;  the  lovable  Pius  raised  me 
to  the  episcopate,  and  now  the  gentle, 
peace-seeking  Benedict  gives  me  the 
greatest  proof  of  his  confidence  when 
he  entrusts  to  my  guidance  one  of  the 
most  important  dioceses  in  the  world. 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  29 

To  him  I  do  now  pledge  loyalty  and 
devotion  until  death.  Thou  art  the 
chief  shepherd  of  His  flock,  thou  prince 
of  the  Apostles. 

But  there  is  another,  a  more  in- 
timate reason  why  I  welcome  you 
here  today.  You  and  I  were  friends 
when  we  were  simple,  unknown  priests. 
Nothing  has  ever  marred  that  friend- 
ship, nor  lessened  the  warm  regard  and 
kindly  feeling  we  have  had  for  each 
other.  I  was  the  first  to  greet  you 
when  you  came  to  these  shores,  and 
you  were  the  first  to  wish  me  well  as 
the  pastor  selected  for  a  great  diocese. 
There  is  no  one  I  know  from  whose 
hands  I  would  rather  receive  the  arch- 
bishop's Pallium  than  from  you.  In  the 
difficult  years  that  lie  before  me,  I  will 
ever  have  your  good  wishes,  your  fra- 
ternal advice,  your  unselfish  assistance, 
as  in  the  past  I  have  had  your  prayers. 

And  to  my  brethren  of  the  episcopate, 
the  Most  Reverend  Archbishops  and 
the  Right  Reverend  Bishops  who  have 
come,  many  •  from  a  distance,  all  at 
great  sacrifice,  I  am  deeply  grateful, 
for,  by  their  presence  here,  they  have 
honored  the  Church  of  Chicago,  its 
clergy,  its  people,  its  city. 


30  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

And  to  you,  priests  of  the  archdiocese 
of  Chicago,  to  you  I  come  today  as  the 
man  selected  by  God  to  be  your  bishop, 
your  leader,  your  spiritual  father.  By 
the  inscrutable  design  of  Providence 
and  because  of  no  merit  of  my  own,  I 
have  been  chosen  as  the  one  "quern 
Spiritus  Sanctus  posuit  regere  hanc  ec- 
cUsiam  Dei."  The  task  is  one  I  did  not 
seek,  one  from  which  I  would  gladly 
shrink,  not  only  because  of  the  vastness 
of  the  work  and  the  difficulties  in  the 
way,  not  only  because  of  my  own  youth, 
inexperience  and  unworthiness,  but 
also  because  I  follow  in  the  footsteps  of 
an  archbishop  whose  life  was  a  sacri- 
fice, whose  example  was  an  incentive, 
whose  memory  is  a  benediction.  When 
in  that,  to  me,  memorable  night  the 
message  came  from  him  who  represents 
in  our  midst  Christ's  Vicar  on  earth, 
that  the  Pallium  of  Chicago  was  to  rest 
on  my  shoulders,  from  my  very  soul  I 
cried  out,  as  I  knelt  before  the  Master, 
"How  can  I  follow  after  the  great 
Quigley,  the  prelate  who  has  written 
his  name  large  across  the  history  of 
this  wonderful  diocese  of  the  middle 
west;  how  can  my  weak  hands  take  up 
the  guiding  reins  where  his  palsied 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  31 

fingers  have  laid  them  down?"  And 
then  almost  like  an  inspiration  came 
to  me  the  thought  of  how  quietly  but 
how  well  he  had  done  his  work,  how  he 
had  prepared  the  ground  for  the  one 
that  would  come  after  him,  how  he  had 
finished  what  he  had  begun  and  how 
richly  God  had  blessed  his  work. 

Fathers,  have  you  ever  realized  how 
good  God  has  been  to  the  Church  in 
Chicago ;  how  it  has  become  one  of  the 
choice  spots  in  His  vineyard?  When  I 
count  the  hundreds  of  churches  scat- 
tered throughout  our  city;  when  I 
review  the  great  army  of  children  in 
our  schools;  when  I  consider  the 
splendid  equipment  to  care  for  the 
sick,  the,  orphaned  and  the  destitute; 
when  I  number  the  homes  of  the 
religious  orders — so  many  nurseries 
of  the  more  perfect  life — when  I 
see  you,  my  priests,  the  captains  of  a 
mighty  host,  almost  too  numerous  to 
count,  gathered  together  from  many 
countries  and  many  climes  and  speak- 
ing many  tongues,  then  do  my  eyes  see 
the  vision  of  the  Epiphany  and  to  my 
lips  rise  the  words  of  the  prophet: 
"Arise,  be  enlightened,  for  thy  light  is 
come  and  the  glory  of  God  is  risen  upon 


32  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

thee.  Lift  up  thy  eyes  round  about 
and  see  all  these  are  gathered  together; 
they  are  come  to  thee;  thy  sons  shall 
come  from  afar  and  thy  daughters 
shall  rise  up  at  thy  side.  Then  shalt 
thou  see  and  abound  and  thy  heart  shall 
wonder  and  be  enlarged." 

Fathers,  this  is  more  than  a  vision, 
this  is  a  picture  of  our  glorious  here- 
spread  of  God's  kingdom;  never  was 
greater  opportunity  given  for  the 
spread  of  God's  kingdom;  never  was 
there  better  chance  to  work  for  His 
glory;  never  was  there  a  brighter  out- 
look for  a  harvest  of  souls  than  you 
and  I  have  here  in  Chicago.  What  fools 
we  would  be  to  let  sordid  ambition,  to 
let  a  lack  of  unity,  to  let  a  spirit  of 
neglect  and  indifference  blight  the  won- 
derful harvest  that  is  preparing  before 
our  eyes.  My  life  and  yours  count  for 
little  where  God's  glory  is  concerned. 
Were  I  to  spend  my  strength  and  en- 
ergy in  a  few  years  what  a  small  price 
it  would  be  to  pay  for  the  fruits  I  can 
gather!  So  I  come  to  you,  even  as 
came  my  predecessor,  to  give  the  best 
that  is  in  me,  my  strength,  my  youth, 
my  energy,  my  life — to  lay  them  all  on 
God's  altar  this  morning  for  the  Church 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMOXS  33 

of  Chicago;  ad  sacrificandum  Domino 
veni.  But  without  you  I  am  powerless, 
my  work  would  be  sterile,  my  efforts 
lifeless.  I  need  you.  I  need  all  of  you, 
and  I  need  you  so  much.  I  want  you  to 
stand  behind  me,  to  hold  up  my  hands, 
to  cover  with  the  mantle  of  your  char- 
ity  my  faults  and  my  shortcomings. 
When  you  render  to  me  your  obedience, 
let  it  be  with  the  promise  exacted  from 
you  in  your  ordination.  To  you  has 
been  given  a  people  than  whom  there  is 
none  more  loyal,  none  more  generous, 
none  more  willing.  Whether  they  have 
come  from  the  green  hills  of  Ireland, 
from  the  clean  little  towns  of  Germany 
or  France,  from  the  now  war-scarred 
plains  of  Poland,  or  whether  they  first 
opened  their  eyes  in  this  land  of  the 
free,  they  form  here  this  great  city, 
the  obedient  sons  and  daughters  of 
Mother  Church,  and  the  best  element  of 
our  citizenship.  You,  the  800  priests  of 
this  diocese,  are  their  guardians.  Keep 
them,  do  not  lose  them.  Fathers,  do 
not  let  them  become  estranged  because 
of  any  fault  of  your  own,  because  of 
neglect  in  teaching  or  default  in  good 
example.  If  we  do,  God  will  surely  ask 


34  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

their  souls  at  our  hands  at  the  judg- 
ment seat. 

And  you,  my  people,  who  today  be- 
come my  sons  and  daughters,  children 
of  the  great  family  committed  to  my 
care !  The  Divine  Spirit  sent  me  to  you 
to  be  the  pastor  of  your  souls.  The 
Lord  has  placed  a  heavy  cross  on  will- 
ing but  weak  shoulders.  Some  day, 
perhaps  not  far  distant,  this  city  will 
be  in  mourning,  these  churches  dark- 
ened, and  before  this  altar  will  rest  all 
that  is  mortal  of  the  third  Archbishop 
of  Chicago.  Then  will  his  spirit  have 
passed  before  the  scrutinizing  eye  of 
the  Almighty  and  the  accounting  he 
must  then  give  will  be  for  a  million  and 
a  quarter  souls.  From  the  moment 
that  the  word  came  to  me  that  I  must 
go  to  you,  this  picture  has  never  been 
far  distant  from  my  mind.  It  is  the 
last  thought  to  leave  me  at  night,  the 
first  to  greet  me  in  the  morning.  Oh, 
if  you  only  knew  what  a  crushing 
weight  this  awful  responsibility  is,  how 
unbearable  it  would  be  for  a  poor,  weak 
man,  were  it  not  for  the  consciousness 
that  your  prayers  never  cease  to  lighten 
the  burden!  It  is  the  supplications  of 
hundreds  of  consecrated  virgins  that 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  35 

move  the  Sacred  Heart  of  the  Master 
to  pity  his  humble  servant.  It  is  the 
pleadings  of  the  poor,  the  sick,  the 
orphaned,  the  penitent,  that  cry  to  the 
Great  Good  Shepherd  that  He  may 
comfort  their  protector.  It  is  the  lisp- 
ing prayers  of  more  than  one  hundred 
thousand  little  children  that  pierce  the 
clouds  and  reach  the  very  throne  of 
God,  that  He  may  strengthen  their 
archbishop.  And  so,  in  the  knowledge 
that,  like  the  Apostle,  I  can  do  all  things 
in  Him  that  strengthens  me,  I  will  not 
falter,  but  with  God's  grace  and  your 
help,  will  bear  without  murmur  the 
burden  placed  on  my  shoulders  until 
the  end. 

With  one  voice  your  priests  have  told 
me  that  I  come  to  the  most  generous 
people  in  the  world.  Show  yourselves 
that  to  me  always,  generous  in  your 
sympathy,  generous  in  your  support — 
and  then  stay  with  me  always.  In  good 
times  or  in  bad,  in  certainty  or  in  doubt, 
stand  loyally  by  your  bishop;  let  no- 
body, let  nothing  part  you  from  him. 
Christ's  words  come  ringing  down 
through  the  ages,  for  they  were  meant 
as  much  for  the  successors  of  the 
Apostles  as  for  the  Apostles  them- 


36  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

selves:  "He  that  heareth  you  heareth 
Me:  He  that  despiseth  you  despiseth 
Me."  A  little  while  ago,  in  the  hushed 
silence  that  followed  the  moment  of 
Consecration  in  the  Mass,  I  could  al- 
most hear  the  whispered  voice  of  our 
Sacramental  Saviour  as  He  breathed 
over  us  the  prayer  He  uttered  over  His 
Apostles  just  before  He  began  His 
passion:  "Father,  I  pray  for  them,  I 
pray  not  for  the  world,  but  for  them 
whom  Thou  hast  given  Me  because  they 
are  Thine.  As  Thou  has  sent  Me  into 
the  world  I  have  also  sent  them  into 
the  world.  And  not  for  them  only  do 
I  pray,  but  for  them  also  who  through 
their  word  shall  believe  in  Me,  that  they 
all  may  be  one,  as  Thou,  Father,  in  Me 
and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be 
one  in  Us,  that  the  world  may  believe 
that  Thou  hast  sent  Me."  That  we  may 
be  one,  one  in  all  things,  one  at  all 
times,  that  as  we  are  one  in  faith  and 
doctrine,  so  we  may  be  one  in  work,  one 
in  charity — bishop,  priests  and  people, 
one  here  and  there.  You  remember 
that  one  splendid  sentence  in  the  Epis- 
tle of  All  Saints'  Day:  "And  then  I 
saw  a  great  crowd  that  no  man  could 
count,  of  all  nations  and  tribes  and 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  37 

peoples  and  tongues,  standing  before 
the  throne  in  sight  of  the  Lamb,  clothed 
in  white  robes  and  palms  in  their 
hands."  The  great  Church  of  Chicago, 
gathered  from  the  nations  of  the  earth 
— that  it  may  be  there,  bishops,  priests 
and  people — that  we  may  all  be  one 
there,  when  you  and  I  pass  from  the 
Church  Militant — God  grant  that  it  be 
to  the  Church  Triumphant,  to  the  great 
white  throne  of  Heaven,  to  chant  God's 
praises  forever  and  forever! 


Address  at  Noon  Reception  of  the  Clergy,  Feb- 
ruary 9th,  1916 

I  would  hardly  be  human  were  I  to 
remain  unmoved  by  the  warmth  of 
your  welcome,  and  I  would  be  ungrate- 
ful did  I  not  give  some  expression  of 
my  deep  appreciation  of  your  kindly 
feelings.  It  would  be  unwise  and  use- 
less to  make  extravagant  promises  now, 
but  one  thing  I  can  assure  you,  in  the 
moments  of  loneliness  that  sometimes 
come  to  all  of  us  and  especially  to  those 
in  high  places,  the  memory  of  the 
warmth  of  your  reception  and  the 
heartiness  of  the  welcome  of  your  peo- 
ples to  me  will  cheer  and  comfort  me 
for  many  years  to  come.  But  yesterday 
I  left  home  and  kindred  and  the  dearest 
friends  man  ever  had,  and  abandoned 
the  fruits  of  many  years  of  labor,  but 
I  did  so  without  regrets,  for  today  the 
Lord  has  united  me  to  the  spouse  He 
had  selected  for  me  for  eternity,  to  the 
wonderful  Church  of  Chicago,  to  her 
and  to  her  children.  I  will,  with  God's 
help,  remain  faithful  until  death  do  us 
part. 

And  now  let  me  say  one  thing  to 
comfort  you,  priests  of  the  archdiocese, 


39 


and  I  say  it  here  in  the  presence  of  His 
Excellency,  the  Apostolic  Delegate. 
For  a  great,  proud  diocese  like  ours, 
practically  the  first  in  the  country,  it 
is  a  test  of  loyalty  and  obedience  to 
receive  as  its  head  an  obscure  bishop 
from  a  distance.  I  know  of  no  diocese 
in  the  east  that  could  have  stood  the 
test  so  nobly  as  did  Chicago.  Gentle- 
men, I  am  proud  of  you.  Although  a 
stranger  to  almost  every  one  of  you, 
the  diocese,  almost  to  a  man,  prepared 
to  welcome  the  new  archbishop  warmly, 
saying,  "Whom  the  Lord  sends  us  will 
be  welcome."  Let  me  tell  you  that 
examples  of  this  kind  do  much  to  con- 
vince our  non-Catholic  brethren,  as 
well  as  our  own  people,  that  our  pro- 
fession of  loyalty  to  the  Holy  See  is 
not  lip-service,  but  comes  from  the 
depths  of  our  being,  with  the  entire 
power  of  our  will  and  all  the  warmth 
of  our  hearts. 

And  now  from  the  clergy  of  this 
archdiocese  I  am  going  to  ask  a  favor 
today.  I  am  going  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  warmth  of  your  welcome 
to  ask  you  to  be  patient  with  me 
and  to  have  consideration  for  me. 
Remember  this  is  the  first  day  I  have 


40  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

spent  in  your  city.  It  will  take  me  time 
to  study  the  diocese  and  its  circum- 
stances. Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day, 
and  I  don't  expect  to  accomplish  much 
for  awhile.  I  must  first  study  men  and 
study  conditions.  Secondly,  I  am  dif- 
ferent from  the  late  archbishop — the 
Lord  cast  me  in  a  different  mould. 
Perhaps  I  am  quicker  in  grasping  a 
thing,  and  am  likely  to  act  more 
quickly,  so  don't  judge  at  once  that  I 
have  not  attached  enough  weight  to 
your  case.  And  if  I  seem  to  hurry  you 
a  little  when  you  call,  it  is  not  that  I 
am  not  interested  in  you,  but  perhaps 
because  others  may  be  waiting  and 
waiting  impatiently.  Finally,  remem- 
ber I  have  a  bad  memory  for  names  and 
faces,  so  if  I  a  second  or  a  third  time 
ask  your  name,  lay  the  blame  to  a  leaky 
memory  rather  than  to  a  cold  heart. 
Secondly,  be  considerate  with  me. 
You  will  find  me  very  human — and  it  is 
human  to  err.  I  am  going  to  make  mis- 
takes. But  I  am  your  archbishop  and  I 
look  to  my  priests  to  cover  up  my  mis- 
takes, not  to  expose,  to  discuss,  or  to 
criticize  them.  To  whom  else  can  I 
look  for  such  consideration?  Your 
archbishop  is  the  one  man  in  this  town 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  41 

who  is  constantly  in  the  spotlight. 
Shield  him  as  much  as  you  can.  Have 
consideration  for  him  and  he  is  likely 
to  be  considerate  with  you.  I  come 
here  to  you  because  I  have  been  sent 
to  you  by  the  same  power  that  sent 
Patrick  to  Ireland,  Boniface  to  Ger- 
many, Augustine  to  England.  And, 
like  them,  I  came  here  to  labor  for  you 
and  with  you.  I  have  been  told  by 
many  of  the  Bishops  that  I  come  to  the 
most  difficult  and  most  thorny  portion 
of  the  Lord's  vineyard.  But  let  me 
assure  you  that  my  sincere,  my  honest 
conviction  is  that  I  am  coming  to  the 
most  fertile  portion,  to  the  part  prom- 
ising the  greatest,  the  richest,  the  most 
golden,  harvest  of  souls.  And  so,  I  come 
not  here  to  obtain  a  reputation,  for  a 
reputation  is  only  a  gossamer  web 
which  a  sudden  gust  blows  away.  I 
came  not  here  for  popular  favor,  for 
popular  favor  today  is  and  tomorrow 
has  vanished.  I  come  not  here  to  look 
for  honors,  for  the  highest  honor  in  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  See  is  to  be  Archbishop 
of  Chicago.  I  repeat,  I  come  to  labor 
with  you.  We  are  both  sowers  of  the 
seed,  you  and  I,  and  all  that  we  hope 
for,  our  whole  ambition,  is  wrapped  up 


42  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

and  contained  in  that  one  Biblical 
sentence,  —  "And  some  fell  on  good 
ground,  and  having  taken  root,  brought 
forth  fruit  in  abundance." 


Address  in  Reply  to  the  Welcome  of  the  Laity 
of  the  Archdiocese,  Delivered  in  the  Audi- 
torium, Chicago,  February  13th,  1916 

To  recall  to  memory  a  scene  similar 
to  this  you  must  go  back  far  in  the 
history  of  the  Church,  yes,  back  to  the 
days  of  the  Apostles  themselves.  Then 
it  was  that  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles, 
Peter,  and  his  companions  appeared  in 
the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  just  after  the 
Holy  Ghost  had  confirmed  them  in 
the  mission  Christ  had  given  them. 
There  these  first  Bishops  of  the  Church 
spoke  the  message  of  salvation  to 
thousands  who  had  come  from  other 
lands,  and  who  spoke  in  divers  tongues. 
Though  the  spokesman  of  the  Apostles, 
our  Lord  addressed  Himself  to  them 
in  his  native  tongue;  yet  all  of  them 
understood  His  message. 

But  a  few  days  ago  the  eighth  bishop 
of  this  See  since  its  erection,  and  its 
third  Archbishop,  presented  himself  in 
your  Cathedral  church  and  caused  to 
be  read  to  the  gathered  priests  and 
people  the  commission  that  had  been 
given  to  him  by  Christ's  Vicar  on  earth, 
— a  commission  to  be  the  pastor  of 
more  than  a  million  souls,  and  the 


44  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

bishop  of  one  of  the  greatest  churches 
in  Christendom.  Tonight,  as  one  of  the 
true  successors  of  those  first  Apostles,  I 
— that  pastor  and  bishop — come  before 
this  great  crowd  of  people,  who  repre- 
sent more  nations  and  tongues  than 
were  gathered  in  Jerusalem's  streets 
on  Pentecostal  day;  and  behold  the 
same  event  is  again  repeated.  For, 
while  you  may  speak  to  me  and  to  each 
other  in  many  tongues,  yet  my  greeting 
to  you,  spoken  in  the  language  of  my 
motherland,  reaches  every  one  of  you, 
and  the  import  of  its  every  word  sinks 
deep  down  into  all  your  hearts,  for  you 
know  it  is  the  voice  of  your  bishop,  the 
words  of  him  whose  flock  you  are. 
Now  you  know  his  voice,  you  have  seen 
his  face,  and  you  have  given  him  your 
loyal  pledge.  No  words  can  tell  my 
gratitude  for  this  wonderful  demon- 
stration. It  is  the  one  thing  I  desired, 
the  sole  thing  I  longed  for,  the  only 
request  I  made — that  I  might  see  as 
many  of  my  people  as  I  could  and  that 
I  might  see  them  before  all  others. 

All  my  priestly  life  has  been  spent  in 
close  touch  with  the  people.  I  had 
thought  up  to  a  few  weeks  ago  of  each 
act  of  these  twenty  years,  of  the  men 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  45 

and  women  I  had  helped,  of  the  children 
I  had  instructed  and  confirmed,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  as  just  a  part  of  duty, 
as  simply  an  incident  of  the  daily  rou- 
tine. But  for  days,  lately,  the  police 
have  halted  traffic  just  to  shake  hands 
and  say  good-bye,  the  clerks  in  the 
stores  have  expressed  their  sorrow  at 
my  going,  millionaires  have  called  to 
pay  their  final  respects,  the  editors  of 
every  Brooklyn  paper  have  written  me 
their  regrets,  bank  presidents  have  sent 
messages  of  farewell,  and  scores  of 
childish  scrawls  have  told  me  that  I  had 
the  children's  prayers.  It  has  been  just 
one  long  cry  of  God-speed,  good-bye. 
It  has  been  the  farewell  of  many 
friends  gathered  by  twenty  years  of 
work  for  a  people,  a  loving  group,  wait- 
ing by  the  wayside  to  watch  grow 
smaller  and  finally  disappear  in  the 
distance  the  lonely  figure  of  a  depart- 
ing friend. 

But  do  not  think  that  I  felt  sor- 
rowful! I  was  coming  to  a  people 
of  my  own,  a  people  who  belong 
to  me,  because  God  has  given  them  to 
me,  a  people  gathered  from  the  nations 
of  the  earth;  speaking  many  tongues, 
but  united  in  their  faith  to  God,  in  their 


46  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

allegiance  to  our  Holy  Father,  in  their 
loyalty  to  their  bishop.  He  has  given 
them  to  me,  a  young  man,  that  I  might 
mould  them,  that  I  might  lead  them, 
that  I  might  teach  them,  that  I  might 
labor  for  them  and  with  them.  He  has 
prepared  me  for  this  work.  He  has 
trained  me  in  the  parts  of  His  service. 
He  has  been  with  me  as  simple  priest, 
as  diocesan  official,  as  parish  pastor,  as 
assistant  bishop,  that  I  might  prove 
a  fit  instrument  for  His  work.  All 
through  my  life  have  I  seen,  as  with 
my  opened  eyes,  His  guiding  hand.  And 
now  I  know  why.  God  has  raised  me 
from  an  obscure,  unknown  Bishop  from 
far  away,  to  what  is  probably  the  most 
important  position  in  the  Church  of 
this  country.  And  now  I  assure  you 
most  solemnly,  should  I  ever  fail  to  do 
His  work,  to  accomplish  great  things 
for  Him,  then  it  is  entirely  my  own 
fault. 

Why  is  it  then  that  I  come  so  gladly 
to  Chicago?  Not  for  the  honor  of  the 
position,  for  that  does  not  attract  me; 
not  for  the  power  of  the  place,  for 
power  means  responsibility,  and  that  I 
would  shun,  if  I  could;  not  for  the  dif- 
ficulties in  the  way,  for  they  do  not 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  47 

frighten  me.  But  the  one  thing  that 
appeals  to  me  and  yet  causes  me  to 
fear,  is  that  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Chicago  is  now  given  such  wonderful 
opportunity,  such  tremendous  possibili- 
ties of  doing  great  and  good  things  for 
God  and  fellowman,  as  is  rarely  given 
to  a  human  being.  Do  you  know  what 
that  means?  It  means  that  I  am  like 
the  servant  in  the  gospel,  to  whom  five 
talents  have  been  given,  and  when  the 
hour  strikes,  and  the  time  has  come 
that  I  may  no  longer  work,  the  Master 
will  expect  me  to  bring  back  another 
five  talents  in  addition,  the  fruits  of  my 
labors,  otherwise  I  shall  be  adjudged 
an  unprofitable  servant.  Never,  in  our 
country  at  least,  was  a  heavier  burden 
placed  on  one  man's  shoulders. 

Were  I  to  attempt  to  carry  it  alone, 
I  should  soon  stagger  and  fall  under  its 
weight,  as  did  my  Master  on  the  climb 
to  Calvary's  height.  Last  Wednesday 
I  appealed  to  my  priests  to  help  me 
carry  it.  Tonight  I  appeal  to  my  chil- 
dren, young  and  old,  to  lighten  its 
burden.  First,  pray  for  me,  pray  for 
me  always.  No  one  needs  it  more.  I 
know  you  will,  for  otherwise  you  would 


48  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

not  be  the  dutiful  children  I  think  you 
are. 

Then,  if  I  can  read  the  signs  of  the 
times,  it  won't  be  all  clear  sailing.  And 
if  I  see  aright,  no  bishop  of  Chicago 
ever  needed  the  help,  the  backing, 
the  support  of  the  laity  more  than  I. 
Plans  are  maturing,  schemes  are  devel- 
oping, and  attacks  are  preparing  to  pull 
down  the  work  of  years.  I  don't  want 
to  be  a  pessimist.  I  do  not  know 
whether  there  be  any  such  danger 
threatening  us  in  this  city  or  this  state. 
But  did  it  ever  come,  I  would  rest 
neither  day  nor  night  until  I  had  roused 
every  Catholic  man  with  the  spark  of 
faith  in  his  soul.  And  let  me  add  that, 
among  the  foremost  to  help  us,  would 
be  the  decent  people  of  our  city  who 
are  not  of  our  faith,  for  they  would 
recognize  that  the  great  conservative 
force  for  law  and  order,  the  great 
bulwark  against  anarchy,  the  great 
preventative  agency  against  crime  in 
our  cities,  is  the  old  Catholic  Church. 
Pull  it  down,  destroy  it  tomorrow,  close 
its  schools  and  its  charitable  institu- 
tions, and  you  might  just  as  well  get 
ready  to  meet  the  cyclone  of  crime,  the 
reign  of  terror  that  would  sweep  our 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  49 

city,  raze  its  walls,  blot  out  its  people. 
This  is  no  exaggeration,  every  thinking 
man  knows  it;  and  so  every  well- 
meaning  Chicago  citizen  would  stand 
by  us  if  danger  threatened,  and  if  such 
danger  were  made  known  to  him. 

No  citizen  has  entered  your  city  who 
was  so  kindly  received  as  your  arch- 
bishop. No  ruler,  temporal  or  spirit- 
ual, was  ever  more  enthusiastically 
greeted.  No  one  has  ever  come  from 
whom  the  city  has  hoped  more, 
from  whom  the  press  has  awaited 
more,  in  whom  the  people  have  trusted 
more  than  your  archbishop.  Will  you, 
my  people,  help  me  to  show  myself 
appreciative  by  supporting  my  efforts 
to  make  our  city  better  spiritually, 
hence  safer  materially;  to  make 
Chicago  more  beautiful  in  its  religious 
edifices;  to  make  our  city,  our  homes, 
our  people,  more  attractive  by  giving 
the  young  instruction,  by  giving  the 
poor  assistance,  by  giving  the  sick 
relief,  by  giving  us  all  a  deeper  faith, 
a  broader  charity,  a  stronger  bond  with 
God,  with  the  home,  with  the  family, 
with  our  neighbor? 

I  would  be  ungrateful  and  dis- 
courteous did  I  not  pause  in  reverent 


50  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

silence  at  the  name  of  my  late  lamented 
predecessor,  Archibishop  Quigley.  But 
I  will  not  tarry,  for  the  time 
approaches  when  I  will  bring  his  name 
permanently  and  prominently  before 
every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the 
diocese. 

And  now  from  the  depths  of  my 
heart  I  pray  Almighty  God  to  bless 
you, — your  homes  and  your  families, — 
that  His  blessing  may  be  fruitful  of 
every  good  for  you  now,  and  in  the 
future.  May  the  blessing  of  Almighty 
God,  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  de- 
scend upon  you  all  and  abide  with  you 
forever. 


Address  at  the  Dedication  of  the  Church-School 

of  Our  Lady  of  Solace,  Chicago, 

October  21st,  1917 

On  the  lava-scarred  slopes  of  ML 
Vesuvius  there  cling  a  cluster  of  tiny 
villages,  where  the  rumble  of  the  un- 
derground thunder  is  often  heard,  and 
where  sometimes  the  red-hot  ashes 
from  the  volcano's  mouth  come  rolling 
down  almost  to  the  very  thresholds.  A 
generation  ago  a  number  of  inhabitants 
of  one  of  these  villages  came  to  this 
country,  and  with  a  clannishness 
peculiar  to  these  people,  kept  together 
and  settled  down  on  a  strip  of  sand  at 
the  ocean's  edge.  When  they  asked  for 
a  priest,  a  companion  of  mine,  a  boy  of 
Irish  name  and  descent,  but  who  spoke 
their  language,— one  of  the  most  de- 
voted and  saintly  men  I  have  ever 
known, — was  assigned  to  them.  They 
had  one  request:  they  wanted  the  mis- 
sion named  after  the  shrine  of  their 
village,  and  so  this  became,  I  believe, 
the  first  church  of  Our  Lady  of  Solace 
in  this  country. 

About  a  dozen  years  ago,  in  com- 
pany with  this  priest,  I  visited  San 
Valentino  Torio,  their  native  village. 


52  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

As  soon  as  we  left  the  railroad  car,  we 
found  ourselves  back  in  the  Middle 
Ages.  The  houses,  the  food,  the  people, 
their  customs,  their  very  clothes  were 
medieval.  We  seemed  to  have  turned 
back  time.  Only  we  two  were  modern. 
Everything  else  seemed  to  be  as  before 
the  days  of  electricity,  of  steam  power, 
of  printing  presses.  Time  seemed  to  be 
of  no  value  to  these  people,  everybody 
appeared  care-free,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  right  there  above  them 
hung  the  menace,  a  veritable  pillar  of 
smoke  by  day,  and  a  sheet  of  flame  by 
night,  that  had  buried  thousands  of 
men  in  the  past,  and  would  probably 
some  day  bury  thousands  of  others. 

With  almost  the  entire  population  of 
the  place  at  our  heels,  we  visited  the 
shrine,  and  there  said  a  prayer  before 
the  ancient  picture  of  the  Madonna  of 
the  Consolazione,  Our  Lady  of  Solace. 
She  is  represented  as  seated  on  a  throne, 
with  the  Infant  Saviour  on  her  knee, 
and  the  angels  bringing  to  her  the 
souls  freshly  liberated  from  the  fires  of 
purgatory. 

The  memory  of  that  visit  has  always 
remained  vividly  with  me,  and  it  seem- 
ed to  me,  after  coming  to  this 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  53 

thoroughly  up-to-date  city,  to  this  giant 
human  bee-hive,  where  the  workers  are 
ever  toiling,  this  place  which  is  never 
quiet,  where  the  good  and  the  bad,  the 
virtuous  and  the  sinful  are  found  in 
every  quarter,  on  almost  every  street, 
that  here,  too,  there  should  be  a  little 
shrine  of  Our  Lady  of  Solace.  For, 
even  if  it  accomplishes  nothing  else,  it 
would  at  least  serve  to  remind  us  of 
the  dear  ones  who  have  gone  before  and 
who  are  perhaps  cleansing  their 
wedding  garments  from  the  mud-spots 
of  their  journey  on  the  road  of  life,  in 
the  purging  fires  of  purgatory.  It  would 
remind  us  of  the  Church  Suffering 
that  we  may  help,  and  that  will  cheer- 
fully and  surely  reciprocate  by  praying 
for  us.  But  more  than  all,  it  honors  Our 
Blessed  Mother  under  one  of  her  most 
beautiful  and  most  merciful  of  titles.  It 
shows  her  to  us,  as  the  almoner  of  her 
Divine  Son,  as  the  giver  of  graces,  as 
the  dispenser  of  His  pardons.  It  makes 
her  dearer  and  more  important  to  us, 
for  it  reminds  us  of  her  power,  of  her 
favor,  of  her  influence  with  her  be- 
loved Son. 

This  is  the  history  and  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  title-name  of  your  church. 


54  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

How  pleased  and  how  proud  you  people 
should  be  to  have  as  your  special 
patroness  Our  Blessed  Mother,  not  as 
the  Queen  of  the  Angels  and  the  Saints, 
but  as  the  simple,  the  sympathetic,  the 
trustful  Lady  of  Solace !  I  congratulate 
your  pastor,  Father  O'Shea,  for  to-day 
one  of  his  dearest  hopes  is  realized,  in 
his  own  little  church,  of  which  he  is  the 
founder  and  builder.  I  congratulate  you, 
his  people,  because  you  have  so  cheer- 
fully and  so  harmoniously  co-operated 
with  him,  and  have  made  this  crowning 
achievement  possible.  You  are  not 
wealthy  people,  nor  are  you  many  in 
number,  but  you  have  worked  together, 
and  you  have  tried  to  do  your  best,  and 
in  this  way  you  have  succeeded. 

And  to  be  candid  with  you,  I  con- 
gratulate you  even  more  heartily  on 
your  little  School  than  on  your  Church. 
A  school  in  a  parish  like  this  is  like  an 
anchor  that  steadies  and  holds  the 
boat.  A  school  will  insure  the  con- 
tinuation of  a  parish  more  than  any- 
thing else  can.  More  than  that,  it  is  the 
junior  church,  for  the  ministry  of 
Christ,  as  contained  in  His  teachings,  is 
continued  there  on  week-days  even  as 
on  Sundays  here.  Moreover,  it  is  the 


55 


place  where  the  parent  is  relieved  of 
part  of  the  burden  of  responsibility, 
where  it  is  taken  up  by  the  priests  and 
the  sisters.  Finally,  here  too  will  your 
children  be  under  the  special  pro- 
tection of  Our  Divine  Lord  and  His 
Blessed  Mother,  for  here  Christ  Him- 
self dwells  in  their  midst  in  the 
Sacrament  of  His  love,  and  here  is  the 
house  that  is  named  in  His  Mother's 
honor.  Cherish  and  love,  then,  this 
your  little  church  and  school.  Look 
upon  it  as  your  own,  your  Father's 
house.  Help  to  keep  it  neat.  Come  of  ten 
and  visit  here.  Pour  out  your  heart 
here  in  your  trouble.  Ask  for  counsel 
here  when  in  doubt.  Beg  pardon  here 
when  you  have  erred.  Then  will  this 
place  be  for  you  a  treasury  of  consola- 
tion, then  will  Our  Lady  give  you 
solace,  strength  and  grace  on  your 
journey  here  and  keep  you  ready  for 
the  joy  and  glory  of  the  eternal  here- 
after in  Heaven. 


Address  at  the  Dedication  of  the  Church-School 

St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury,  Chicago, 

June  24th,  1917 

I  take  a  special  pleasure  to-day  in 
dedicating  this  church  building  to  the 
service  of  God.  The  first  parish  I 
formed  after  coming  into  the  diocese 
was  this  parish  of  St.  Thomas  of  Can- 
terbury. In  giving  it  this  name,  I  looked 
through  the  calendar  of  the  Saints.  I 
found  that  your  St.  Thomas  was  the 
only  one  who  had  been  a  chancellor, 
had  then  become  an  archbishop  and 
afterwards  a  Saint.  I  had  been  a 
chancellor  for  14  years,  I  am  now  an 
archbishop,  and  I  trust  I  may  not  be  too 
presumptuous  in  hoping  that  I  may  be 
permitted  to  complete  the  journey  with 
St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury.  But  you  will 
object  that  he  obtained  the  crown  of 
martyrdom.  My  only  answer  can  be 
that  there  are  two  kinds  of  martyr- 
dom— the  martyrdom  of  blood  and  the 
martyrdom  of  patience.  The  first  may 
be  out  of  my  grasp,  but  everyone  will 
surely  admit  that  Chicago  is  rather  a 
good  field  for  the  second.  You  can 
readily  see  that  motives  not  entirely  un- 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  57 

selfish  entered  into  the  selection  of 
your  patronal  Saint. 

Aside  from  this,  however,  there  are 
few  Saints  whom  we  can  so  admire  for 
courage  and  championship  of  God's 
cause,  in  the  face  of  tremendous 
obstacles.  He  might  have  curried  favor 
and  gained  honors,  if  he  had  tolerated 
abuses  on  the  part  of  the  King  and  his 
minions,  but  no, — he  was  the  good 
shepherd,  not  a  hireling,  and  the 
shepherd  who  was  willing  and  ready  to 
lay  down  his  life  for  his  flock.  And  so 
he  became  a  model  and  an  inspiration 
to  bishop  and  clergy.  He  is  also  a  model 
for  you,  the  people  who  are  placed 
under  his  patronage  and  entrusted  to 
his  intercession,  teaching  you  that  no 
matter  what  may  be  the  odds  against 
you,  you  must  never  prove  recreant  in 
your  loyalty  to  your  Church,  but  that  in 
word  and  deed  you  must  ever  stand  up 
for  its  doctrines  and  carry  out  its  com- 
mands. It  seems  fitting,  too,  that  we 
should  dedicate  this  church  to  the  honor 
of  the  martyred  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury  on  the  feast  day  of  the  Baptist, 
for  both  of  them  suffered  the  penalty  of 
death  at  the  hands  of  a  King  whom 


58  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

they  fearlessly  reproved  for  his  sinful 
life  and  deeds. 

I  congratulate  this  parish  on  its 
unique  and  distinctive  church  building. 
Its  architecture  is  pure  colonial,  which 
is  the  only  distinctive  American  archi- 
tecture. There  are  many  beautiful 
Yankee  meeting-houses  of  the  colonial 
type,  but  this  is  the  only  Catholic 
church,  in  this  diocese  at  least,  built  in 
this  style.  Coming  at  this  time,  when 
our  country  calls  for  every  particle  of 
our  loyalty,  it  is  almost  symbolical  of 
the  twin  devotions  of  your  heart,  love 
of  God  and  love  of  country. 

This  parish  has  been  in  existence  for 
just  about  a  year.  I  doubt  if  there  be 
any  other  in  this  city  that  has  so 
splendid  a  record  for  what  has  been 
accomplished  in  a  financial  sense  as  this 
new  parish.  I  really  did  not  think  it 
possible  for  you  to  do  as  well  as  you 
actually  have  done.  And  this,  I  feel,  is 
due  to  two  causes.  First  of  all,  the 
splendid  parish  spirit  you  have  shown. 
You  have  been  ready  to  co-operate  with 
every  good  movement  that  came,  so 
long  as  it  was  to  help  St.  Thomas*.  As 
some  one  remarked,  "They  never  rest  in 
that  parish,  they  are  always  working, 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  59 

there  is  always  something  doing."  But 
the  last  cause,  and  by  no  means  the 
least,  as  you  all  will  admit,  is  because 
you  have  a  pastor  who  does  not  spare 
himself.  He  may  not  be  quite  as  plain- 
spoken  as  your  patron  Saint,  but  he 
does  manage,  in  his  own  quiet  way,  to 
get  splendid  results.  When  I  was  send- 
ing Father  O'Brien  here,  I  said  to  my- 
self, "There  is  one  part  of  the  city  I 
need  not  worry  about,  for  the  pastor 
will  be  at  his  post  and  his  people  will 
have  no  trouble  in  finding  him, — in  fact 
their  real  trouble  will  be  in  evading 
him." 

In  closing,  the  one  blessing  that  I 
would  ask  for  you  to-day,  and  in- 
cidentally for  me  too,  is  that  you  may 
for  many  years  work  together  as  har- 
moniously and  as  successfully  as  you 
have  for  the  past  year;  then  will  this 
new  church  be  a  source  of  pride  and  a 
fountain  of  blessing  for  you,  for  yours 
and  for  the  diocese. 


Address  at  the  Dedication  of  the  New  Church 

of  Our  Lady  of  Lourdes,  Chicago, 

May  21st,  1916 

In  a  way  we  say  that  here  in  Chicago 
we  are  only  of  yesterday.  The  Church 
is  only  in  the  beginning  of  its  second 
half-century,  and  the  diocese  is  still 
wearing  garments  of  childhood.  But  it 
has  been  a  lusty  childhood,  I  can  assure 
you,  and  we  are  rapidly  outgrowing, 
almost  bursting  through,  our  childish 
clothes.  We  may  not  have  many 
beautiful  churches  here  in  this  city, 
for  we  have  been  too  busy  looking  after 
the  more  necessary  things  which  else- 
where may  have  been  neglected;  but 
they  are  coming,  and  within  the  next 
ten  years,  with  God's  help,  we  will 
have  enough  to  show  and  be  proud  of. 
The  other  day  I  was  very  glad  to  hear 
a  prelate,  who  comes  from  the  site  of 
the  first  Spanish  mission  churches,  say 
that  he  had  seen  this  new  church  of  Our 
Lady  of  Lourdes,  and  that  he  found 
it  a  very  good  specimen  of  mission 
architecture.  It  will  form  one  of  the 
interesting  sights  of  the  city,  it  will  be 
a  relief  from  the  ordinary  church-build- 
ing we  have,  and,  after  all,  it  is  in 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  61 

thoroughly  Catholic  style,  for  the  old 
Fathers  of  the  Pacific  coast  were  its 
originators.  I  am  glad  to  have  it  here. 
I  am  glad  to  have  it  dedicated,  too,  to 
Our  Lady  of  Lourdes,  that  title  of  Our 
Blessed  Mother  which  she  herself  made 
glorious,  under  which  she  has  obtained 
so  many  heavenly  favors.  I  con- 
gratulate your  pastor,  Father  Scanlan, 
on  what  he  has  accomplished,  and  I  con- 
gratulate you,  his  people,  on  the  loyal 
co-operation  you  have  given  him,  and 
on  the  beautiful  church  you  have  for 
your  own. 

And  now  just  a  word,  neither  foreign 
to  the  subject  nor  alien  to  the  occasion. 
You  know  as  well  as  I  do  that  it  costs 
something  nowadays  to  get  nice  things, 
and  to  keep  nice  things  when  you  have 
them.  You  people  have  a  nice  parish 
church,  but  it  carries,  too,  a  good-sized 
parish  debt.  That  means  that  it  will 
cost  to  keep  it.  Don't  let  your  pastor  do 
all  the  worrying.  If  all  do  their  duty, 
there  will  be  no  need  for  anyone  to 
worry. 

Further,  I  trust  that  the  beauty  of 
the  church  will  be  only  an  outward 
manifestation  of  the  beauty  of  the 
people's  lives.  The  grace  of  God  is  here, 


62  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

but  I  pray  it  may  not  stay  here,  but  go 
out  from  here  into  every  home  and 
every  heart  in  the  parish.  This  is  your 
father's  house,  your  mother's  property, 
you  have  signed  it  over  to  her  name  this 
morning.  Therefore,  it  is  your  house, 
too.  Come  here  often,  and  in  very  truth 
make  yourselves  at  home. 


Address  at  the  Dedication  of  the  New  St.  Je- 
rome's Church,  Chicago,  Octo- 
ber 15th,  1916 

It  is  for  me  a  source  of  joy  and  grati- 
fication to  come  here  this  morning  and 
dedicate  this  new  parish  church  of  St. 
Jerome,  and  that  for  many  reasons. 
First  of  all,  because  we  are  promoting 
God's  honor  and  glory  and  helping  the 
spread  of  His  Kingdom  on  earth. 
Second,  because  we  are  offering  to  God 
a  sanctuary  that  is  worthy  of  Him, 
a  temple  where  His  Sacramental 
Presence  is  enthroned  and  where  you, 
His  children,  may  come  to  Him,  and  in 
joy  and  in  sorrow  make  known  to  Him 
your  wants,  and  be  grateful  to  Him  for 
His  gifts.  Then,  because  we  are  adding 
further  and  brighter  lustre  to  the  name 
of  one  to  whom  we  owe  so  much,  that 
ardent  student  and  inspired  translator 
of  Holy  Scriptures,  your  patron,  St. 
Jerome.  It  has  always  seemed  logical  to 
me  that  the  same  divine  fire  of  inspira- 
tion that  guided  the  hand  of  the  four 
evangelists,  touched  the  pen  of  this 
student  saint,  for  even  among  human 
masterpieces  of  literature,  in  every 
tongue  since  the  world  began,  his 


64  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

vulgate  version  of  the  Scriptures  stands 
supreme  as  a  literary  gem.  With  the 
fewest  and  simplest  words,  with  just  a 
few  broad  strokes  of  his  pen,  he  has  left 
us  pictures  that  will  never  die,  sen- 
tences one  never  forgets,  imprints  of 
the  heart's  emotions  that  will  not  be 
surpassed.  I  am  glad  indeed  to  place 
his  name  over  the  altar  of  this  church 
in  my  diocese. 

Then,  too,  because  today  brings  joy 
to  you,  the  people  of  this  parish.  For 
many  of  you,  today  brings  the  fulfill- 
ment of  your  hopes.  The  longing  of 
years  is  satisfied,  the  sacrifices  of  the 
past  are  rewarded.  Today  the  little 
frame  church  that  did  such  valiant 
service  for  more  than  twenty  years, 
which  echoed  so  many  fervent  prayers, 
which  witnessed  so  many  administra- 
tions of  the  Sacraments,  which  was  the 
scene  of  so  many  of  the  great  events 
in  life,  is  formally  sent  into  deserved 
retirement,  and  as  you  point  with  pride 
to  your  new  church,  which  takes  its 
place  among  the  handsome  edifices  of 
the  city,  your  hearts  are  filled  with  joy, 
because  you  know  that  you  have  helped 
to  raise  its  walls — that  your  gifts,  large 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  65 

and  small,  have  helped  to  bring  it  into 
being. 

Finally,  not  only  I,  but  every  priest 
in  the  sanctuary  and  every  man,  woman 
and  child  in  the  pews  rejoice  today  with 
the  pastor  of  this  church,  who  on  this 
joyful  day  looks  with  a  glow  of  grati- 
fied pride  on  this  beautiful  church,  of 
which  he  is  so  proud,  which  bears  the 
imprint  of  his  personality. 


Address  at  the  Dedication  of  the  Church-School 
at  Highland  Park,  Illinois,  No- 
vember 19th,  1916 

One  of  the  first  happenings  after  my 
coming  to  this  diocese  was  the  destruc- 
tion by  fire  of  the  parochial  school  at 
Highland  Park.  Today,  after  a  lapse 
of  hardly  eight  months,  it  has  risen 
again  phoenix-like,  from  its  ashes,  bet- 
ter than  before.  It  also  houses  your 
temporary  church,  and  close  by  there 
has  arisen  a  new  rectory,  commodious, 
comfortable,  complete,  and  all  of  this 
without  adding  to  the  parish  debt.  I 
congratulate  you  people  on  the  spirit 
you  have  shown,  and  I  congratulate 
your  pastor  on  the  work  that  has  been 
accomplished.  It  would  be  ungenerous 
on  my  part  did  I  withhold  approval  and 
appreciation  of  what  your  united  ef- 
forts have  produced.  You  have  here  a 
quiet,  modest,  but  devotional  chapel 
that  will  suit  your  needs  for  sometime 
to  come,  where  the  Sacrifice  of  the 
Mass  will  be  offered  up  for  you,  where 
the  Sacramental  Presence  will  be  kept 
for  you,  where  you  may  come  and  pour 
out  your  soul  in  prayer.  And  this,  I 
know,  will  not  be  for  long:  for  even 
now  you  look  forward  to  the  day  not 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  67 

far  distant,  when  you  will  worship  God 
in  a  temple  worthy  of  Him,  which  will 
be  a  gift  of  your  hands  and  your  hearts. 

I  congratulate  you  even  more  on  the 
deep  religious  spirit  that  prompted, 
first  of  all,  the  erection  of  this  school, 
as  it  shows  how  much  you  value  the 
need  of  religious  instruction.  This 
building  is  the  most  important  building 
in  the  village.  There  is  none  other  that 
does  so  much  good.  In  saying  this,  I 
am  by  no  means  exaggerating,  for  I  am 
speaking  from  my  own  experience.  I 
was  sent  to  a  parish  which  for  many 
years  had  been  without  a  parochial 
school.  The  school  was  built,  and  in 
the  seven  years  of  its  existence  it 
changed  the  face  of  the  parish. 

We  Catholics  occupy  a  unique  posi- 
tion with  regard  to  our  schools.  We 
do  not  criticise  and  decry  the  public 
school  system  as  all  wrong.  We  simply 
say  it  is  not  enough  for  us.  The  State 
school  system  educates  the  mind,  the 
intellect,  but  it  neglects  the  heart,  the 
moral,  the  religious,  the  spiritual  part 
of  man,  and  that  means  the  principal, 
the  most  necessary  part  of  him.  We 
maintain  that  to  educate  the  mind  and 
neglect  the  soul  is  an  experiment  that 


68  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

is  fraught  with  danger  to  the  indi- 
vidual and  to  the  state  as  well.  But  as 
we  do  not  seek  to  force  our  views  on 
others,  we  build  and  maintain  our  own 
schools,  at  our  own  expense,  while 
bearing  our  burden  of  the  State  schools 
as  well.  And  as  we  are  people  of  very 
moderate  means,  we  feel  that  we  are 
indeed  giving  a  splendid  example  of 
devotion  to  our  religion  and  love  of  our 
country,  too.  In  a  word,  while  we  are 
rendering  to  God  the  things  that  are 
God's,  we  are  giving  to  Caesar  just  a 
little  more  than  belongs  to  Caesar! 
Surely  every  Catholic  here  has  good 
reason  to  be  proud  today,  for  your 
school  is  an  ornament,  one  of  the  show- 
places  of  your  village.  You  will  become 
prouder  still,  however,  for  it  will  be  a 
center  of  religious  activity,  it  will  be 
the  boast  of  the  parish,  it  will  be  the 
church  of  the  children. 

This  is  my  first  visit  to  you.  May 
each  succeeding  visit  show  greater 
progress  not  only  in  the  material,  but 
even  more  in  the  spiritual  condition  of 
the  parish,  so  that  your  fellow-citizens, 
regardless  of  creed,  will  be  proud,  not 
only  of  your  buildings,  but  of  the  lives 
of  their  Catholic  neighbors. 


Address  at  the  Wedding  of  Miss  Mildred  Mur- 
phy, Daughter  of  the  Late  Sir  John  B. 
Murphy,  K.S.G.,  M.D. 

Had  your  ears  been  attuned  to  the 
sounds  of  heaven,  just  a  moment  ago, 
you  would  have  heard  the  angel  turn 
over  a  leaf  in  the  book  of  life,  and  on 
a  new  page  thereof  inscribe  both  your 
names,  for  indeed  you  are  beginning  a 
new  chapter  in  your  life's  history.  You 
sever  the  bonds  that  have  held  you 
until  now:  you  leave  the  home  of  your 
childhood  and  your  youth,  to  begin  one 
of  your  own:  you  give  up  father  and 
mother,  because  you  now  prepare  for 
a  like  responsibility:  you  belong  no 
longer -to  yourselves  but  to  each  other: 
you  become,  according  to  Christ's  own 
words,  "two  in  one  flesh."  Surely,  after 
the  words  pronounced  by  the  priest  in 
absolution  and  in  the  Mass  at  the  mo- 
ment of  consecration,  there  are  no  more 
important  words  that  come  from  hu- 
man lips  than  the  simple  words  of 
consent  you  have  just  spoken,  for  they 
create  a  bond  which  can  be  severed  by 
death  alone.  But,  if  this  step  is  im- 
portant, you  have  the  consolation  of 
knowing  that  you  have  not  taken  it 


70  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

without  reflection.  You  have  both  come 
from  good  homes  and  have  had  the 
advantages  of  splendid  parentage  and 
careful  training.  You  have  known 
each  other  for  years  and  understand 
each  other's  ways  and  customs.  And 
best  of  all,  you  come  here  before  God's 
altar  and  in  His  presence,  to  begin  this 
new,  wedded  life.  Just  like  the  couple 
at  Cana  of  Galilee,  you  have  invited 
Jesus  and  His  Mother  as  the  first  and 
principal  guests  at  your  marriage  feast. 
You  ask  Him  to  bless  you,  to  bless  your 
home,  to  bless  those  whom  He  may  send 
to  you.  You  come  here  like  two  little 
children,  with  all  simplicity  and  all  con- 
fidence, you  stretch  out  your  hands  to 
Him  and  draw  Him  to  you  and  press 
Him  to  enter  into  your  hearts.  And 
He  does  come  to  you  today,  just  as  He 
came  then  to  the  little  bride  in  Cana. 
He  will  bless  you  and  He  will  stay  with 
you,  just  as  long  as  you  let  Him.  And 
if  you  would  keep  Him,  just  listen  to 
the  directions  His  blessed  Mother  gave : 
"Whatever  He  tells  you,  do  you."  And 
if  you  will  obey  this  little  suggestion  of 
His  Mother  and  ours,  then  He  will  stay 
with  you,  and  you  will  be  happy. 
Just  one  word  more:  you  clasped 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  71 

hands  at  my  command :  that  means  you 
are  to  go  through  life  together.  Don't 
ever  let  anyone,  don't  let  anything,  am- 
bition, wealth,  pleasure,  anything,  ever 
come  between  you.  Keep  close  to- 
gether, depend  upon  each  other,  help 
each  other  carry  the  burden, — yield  to 
each  other  quickly,  gladly,  willingly: 
then,  no  matter  how  rough  the  path  is, 
you  will  walk  it  easily,  for  you  will 
walk  it  side  by  side:  no  matter  how 
heavy  the  burden  is,  you  will  carry  it 
lightly,  for  you  will  carry  it  together: 
no  matter  how  gloomy  the  day  is,  the 
sunshine  from  your  hearts  will  brighten 
it;  and  even  when  the  evening  of  life 
is  drawing  nigh,  it  will  be  made  a  bril- 
liant sunset  by  the  light  of  the  love 
that  glorifies.  And  when  at  the  end 
the  Master  calls  one  of  you,  the  sepa- 
ration will  be  only  for  a  while,  for  at 
the  door  of  heaven  you  will  meet  again, 
there  to  part  no  more. 


Address  at  the  Dedication  of  the  New  School  for 

St.  Edmund's  Parish,  Oak  Park,  HI- 

inois,  October  14th,  1917 

It  is  always  one  of  the  year's  solemn 
days  and  a  time  of  rejoicing  for  the 
people  of  a  parish  when  their  bishop 
comes  to  visit  them  and  to  bring  them 
his  blessing.  It  is  an  even  greater 
cause  for  joy,  when,  as  today,  the  arch- 
bishop comes  into  your  midst  for  the 
first  time,  and  when  by  an  extraor- 
dinary privilege  he  brings  you  the 
blessing  of  the  Head  of  the  universal 
Church,  and  gives  you  the  Papal 
blessing. 

There  is  an  added  solemnity  on  this 
occasion,  for  he  comes  as  your  repre- 
sentative, your  leader,  the  head  of  this 
family,  to  bless  and  to  off er  up  to  the 
service  of  Almighty  God,  the  beautiful 
parish  School  you  have  just  completed. 
I  purposely  said  "to  the  service  of 
Almighty  God,"  for  our  school  is  the 
children's  church.  It  is  the  place  where 
certainly  an  oblation  of  clean  hearts  is 
constantly  being  offered  up,  it  is  the 
house  of  prayer  for  the  little  ones,  it 
is  the  pulpit  whence  the  little  ones  are 
instructed  in  the  divine  truths  by 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  73 

Christ  through  His  chosen  spouses, 
even  as  He  taught  the  multitudes  from 
the  hill-top  in  the  sermon  on  the  mount; 
it  is  the  workshop  where  the  souls  of 
your  little  ones  will  be  moulded  and 
fashioned  according  to  the  living  model, 
which  is  Christ  Jesus ;  it  is  the  lecture- 
hall,  where  not  only  the  necessary 
knowledge  to  equip  them  to  take  their 
place  in  the  world  is  taught  them,  but 
also  where  the  divine  truths  and  a 
knowledge  of  God's  commandments, 
which  is  necessary  for  their  souls' 
salvation,  is  given  them. 

It  is  for  all  of  these  reasons  that  we 
Catholics  prize  our  schools  so  highly, 
that  we  are  ready  to  make  such  sacri- 
fices 'for  them,  that  we  consider  a 
parish  incomplete  without  its  school, 
and  the  Sisters  to  teach  our  children 
therein.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that 
we  have  learned  from  the  mistakes 
made  by  Catholics  in  some  European 
countries,  who,  lulled  into  a  false  se- 
curity by  the  fact  that  the  population 
was  nearly  all  Catholic,  at  least  in 
name,  neglected  to  provide  their  own 
primary  and  secondary  schools,  until 
they  had  discovered  too  late  that  re- 
ligion among  them  was  only  too  often 


74  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

like  a  seed  fallen  on  a  rock,  which, 
because  it  had  no  roots,  soon  withered 
away.  Daily  and  hourly,  we  learn  from 
the  experience  of  those  about  us  that  if 
you  want  a  child  to  grow  into  a  moral, 
conscientious  man  or  woman,  you  are 
building  on  sand  unless  you  begin  to 
instill  religion  into  the  baby  soul  as 
soon  as  you  commence  to  teach  it  the 
alphabet  and  the  rudiments  of  its 
three  R's. 

In  this  connection,  a  piece  of  infor- 
mation that  has  come  to  me  recently, 
as  a  result  of  an  investigation  made  by 
the  two  chaplains  of  the  largest  prisons 
in  the  country  (the  penal  institutions 
of  the  states  of  New  York  and  Illinois), 
is  of  interest.  It  developed  on  inquiry 
that  among  the  nearly  five  thousand 
prisoners,  less  than  two, — little  more 
than  one-percent,  had  been  trained  in 
parochial  schools,  though  there  are  be- 
tween three  and  four  hundred  thousand 
children  in  the  parish  schools  of  these 
two  states  at  the  present  time.  Proofs 
of  this  kind,  constantly  presenting 
themselves,  are  the  best  kind  of  evi- 
dence of  the  splendid  work  we  Catholics 
are  quietly  doing  in  our  schools  to 
safeguard  law  and  order,  to  make  of 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  75 

our  children  not  only  God-fearing  Cath- 
olics, but  law-abiding,  peace-loving, 
loyal  citizens.  I  am  particularly  pleased 
to  find  among  our  people  in  this  diocese 
a  devotion  to  their  schools.  They  do 
not  need  to  be  convinced  of  the  value 
of  a  religious  education,  they  do  not 
shrink  from  making  sacrifices  for  it, 
nor  do  they  waste  time  and  effort  in 
denouncing  a  non-religious  and  secular 
system  of  education.  They  simply 
cherish  the  former,  and  they  silently 
pass  over  the  defects  of  the  latter.  That 
is  precisely  what  I  intend  to  do,  and  ex- 
hort my  priests  to  do.  It  is  simply  a  case 
of  pointing  to  results.  "By  their  fruits 
you  shall  know  them."  We  do  not 
claim  the  credit,  that  belongs,  first  of 
all,  to  Almighty  God.  "Unless  the  Lord 
build  the  house,  in  vain  do  those  labor 
who  have  built  it."  And  after  God, 
the  credit  belongs  to  the  Sisters,  who 
in!  this  respect  are  more  than  God's 
handmaidens;  they  are  His  ministers, 
for  they  are  faithfully  carrying  out 
His  mission  of  teaching  the  nations. 
Finally,  some  of  the  credit  must  go  to 
our  good  Catholic  people  who  so  loyally 
support  our  Catholic  Schools.  In  this 
they  show  a  parents'  real  love  for  their 


76  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

children,  they  show  that  they  love  their 
souls  more  than  their  bodies,  their 
eternal  salvation  rather  than  their 
worldly  advancement. 

I  congratulate  the  pastor,  Father 
Code,  and  his  people  on  this  day,  for 
today  this  parish  arrives  at  its  ma- 
jority. It  is  no  longer  an  infant  in 
its  swaddling  clothes,  it  has  attained 
its  full  growth.  It  is  a  parish  thor- 
oughly equipped,  and  the  one  thing  I 
can  assure  the  people  of  Oak  Park, 
irrespective  of  creed,  race  or  position, 
is  that  there  is  no  building  in  the  con- 
fines of  the  village  that  will  work 
harder  or  more  effectually  for  the  com- 
mon welfare  than  the  school  we  have 
blessed  today. 


Address  at  the  Dedication  of  the  New  Corpus 

Christ!  Church,  Chicago, 

June  28th,  1916 

We  have  come  here  today  to  dedicate 
a  beautiful  church  that  bears  a  beauti- 
ful name, — on  a  day  when  all  the  world 
stands  before  the  altar,  not  only  in  the 
church,  but  also  in  the  gardens  and  in 
the  fields, — and  the  Mass  that  is  every- 
where chanted  by  the  priest  is  the  Mass 
of  Corpus  Christi.  When  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff,  Urban  IV,  wanted  to  honor  this 
solemnity  by  a  proper  office  and  Mass, 
he  called  in  not  an  ordinary  poet,  priest 
or  prelate,  but  he  summoned  an  in- 
spired writer,  whose  eloquent  pen 
clothed  the  wisdom  of  a  saint  in  the 
language  of  an  angel:  and  when  the 
choir  chants  the  office  of  this  feast,  it 
needs  but  little  help  of  the  imagination 
to  see  the  glory  of  the  heavenly  court 
march  by  in  a  long  procession  in  honor 
of  the  Sacramental  Saviour.  Any  priest 
will  tell  you  that  in  all  the  liturgy  of 
the  Church  there  is  no  hymn  more 
solemn,  more  beautiful,  more  sublime 
than  the  "Lauda  Sion  Salvatorem" — 
"Praise,  0  Zion,  thy  Redeemer" — which 
is  read  in  the  Mass  today. 


78  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

This  beautiful  name  has  been  given 
as  the  title  of  your  church,  and  this 
feast  has  been  made  the  family-feast 
of  this  parish  and  its  people.  My,  how 
proud  you  should  be,  how  it  ought  to 
inspire  you  to  prove  worthy  of  it,  to 
spur  you  on  to  come  here  oftener  to 
honor  Him  for  whom  this  temple  was 
built,  who  dwells  here  in  the  Sacrament 
of  His  love !  Let  it  be  the  devotion  that 
you  will  cultivate  in  the  hearts  of  your 
children  at  home — a  real  love  of  their 
Lord  and  their  God,  a  real  craving  of 
their  souls  to  see  Him  often  and  receive 
Him  frequently  in  this  Eucharistic 
food.  It  is  for  this  we  have  built  this 
church.  That  is  why  nothing  is  too 
good  for  God's  house,  why  we  will 
bring  from  afar  marble  and  gold  and 
precious  stones  to  build  its  altar  and 
fashion  its  tabernacle:  steal  the  colors 
of  the  rainbow  to  imprison  them  in 
the  glass  of  its  windows  and  the  pic- 
tures of  its  walls, — because  a  Catholic 
Church  is  not  a  mere  meeting  house, 
not  an  assembly  hall,  not  even  a  home 
of  prayer,  but  it  is  the  treasure-house 
in  which  we  preserve  the  most  costly, 
the  most  wonderful,  the  most  precious 
part  of  our  inheritance,  the  real  Pres- 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  79 

ence  of  our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus 
Christ  I  congratulate  your  good  pas- 
tor on  the  work  he  has  accomplished 
here,  and  I  congratulate  you,  his  people, 
on  the  loyal  support  you  have  given  to 
him.  I  trust  that  your  cooperation  may 
be  given  to  him  even  more  generously 
in  the  future,  so  that  the  cloud  of  debt 
which  now  somewhat  obscures  the 
beauty  of  this  temple  may  soon  be 
lifted  and  rolled  away. 

There  was  a  boy  named  Paschal,  and 
the  devotion  that  hallowed  his  life  was 
his  love  for  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
Those  who  surrounded  his  corpse  when 
it  rested  before  the  altar-rail  on  the 
morning  when  the  funeral  Mass  was 
being  chanted  for  him,  tell  us  that 
twice  did  his  eyelids  lift,  his  eyes  open 
and  gaze  at  the  time  of  the  elevation, 
once  at  the  Sacred  Host,  again  at  the 
Sacred  Cup,  as  if  his  now  lifeless  body 
still  responded  to  the  promptings  of  his 
now  distant  soul.  Do  you,  too,  people 
of  Corpus  Christi  parish,  make  your 
own  this  devotion  that  raised  him  to 
the  honors  of  the  altar,  and  when  the 
time  comes  that  your  body  and  soul  go 
for  the  final  judgment,  it  will  merit  for 


80  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

you,  as  it  did  for  him,  that  your  eyes 
will  open  to  gaze  and  gaze  forever  on 
the  now  glorified  Corpus  Christi. 


Address  at  the  Graduation  Exercises  of  the  De 

La  Salle  Institute,  Chicago, 

May  31st,  1917 

In  the  year  1885  there  was  a  World's 
Fair  somewhere  in  the  South, — I  be- 
lieve in  New  Orleans.  The  present 
Archbishop  of  Chicago  was  then  a  pupil 
in  De  La  Salle  Institute,  New  York. 
All  the  pupils  of  the  School  were  kept 
busy  for  some  days  and  even  weeks, 
making  special  preparations,  as  there 
was  to  be  an  exhibition  of  classwork  at 
this  World's  Fair.  Together  with  the 
albums  containing  the  work  of  the 
pupils,  the  photographs  of  the  various 
classes  were  taken  and  likewise  sent, 
to  be  shown  in  the  same  exhibit.  For 
more  than  twenty  years  I  had  not  seen 
a  copy  of  that  photograph  in  which  I 
was  an  exceedingly  young  and  tender 
undergraduate,  but  some  weeks  ago, 
an  old  Brother  who  had  taught  me, 
going  over  some  old  books  and  papers, 
found  the  photographs,  had  copies 
made  of  them  and  sent  them  to  me.  In 
his  letter  he  says,  "as  I  look  over  the 
old  boys,  one  thing  strikes  me:  all  of 
them  have  turned  out  well.  What  a 
consolation !" 


82  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

This  is  the  year  1917  and  tonight 
another  class  leaves  De  La  Salle — but 
this  time  it  is  De  La  Salle  Institute  of 
Chicago.  I  trust  that  when  thirty  years 
have  passed  by,  one  of  the  old  Brothers 
may  be  able  to  say  of  you  boys  who 
stand  here  to  day,  "all  of  the  boys  have 
turned  out  well."  And  if  such  should 
not  be  the  case,  if  one  or  the  other  of 
you  are  among  the  missing  from  the 
list  of  those  who  turned  out  well,  then 
the  fault  will  all  be  yours,  for  the  con- 
ditions are  pretty  much  the  same,  your 
homes  are  much  the  same  as  ours  were. 
We  were  not  millionaires'  sons  either. 
You  had  about  the  same  sort  of  train- 
ing that  we  did,  and  the  Brothers 
who  taught  you  don't  differ  from  the 
Brothers  who  taught  us. 

So  you  see  I  have  good  reason  for  my 
confidence  in  sending  you  forth  into  the 
world  this  evening  with  the  belief  that 
you  will  turn  out  to  be,  perhaps  not 
captains  of  industry,  not  masters  of 
finance ;  but  men  who,  in  their  dealings 
with  others  as  well  as  in  their  private 
lives,  will  be  a  credit  to  the  School 
from  which  you  have  come  and  to  the 
Brothers  who  taught  you,  and  a  source 
of  consolation  to  your  Archbishop. 


Address  at  the  Graduation  Exercises  of  the 

Academy  of  Our  Lady,  Longwood, 

Chicago,  1917 

We  have  come  here  this  afternoon 
for  a  three-fold  purpose.  First,  for 
our  own  amusement.  Longwood  has 
always  had  a  reputation  for  the  excel- 
lence of  its  music,  and  all  will  agree 
with  me  that  today  it  has  lived  up  to 
its  reputation  of  former  years.  We 
have  come  here,  secondly,  for  the  sake 
of  the  young  lady  graduates  of  1917. 
The  author  of  the  line,  "what  is  as  rare 
as  a  day  in  June,"  might  have  been  a 
lady,  who  had  in  mind  that  June  is  the 
month  for  brides  and  girl  graduates. 
And  it  is  a  great  day  for  these  grad- 
uates,' for  it  is  a  day  that  they  have 
looked  forward  to  throughout  the 
months  and  years  that  they  have  been 
in  this  convent  home;  it  is  an  event 
they  have  been  working  and  planning 
for,  the  day  when  they  stand  before 
their  parents  and  friends  with  their 
work  completed,  with  their  schooldays 
over,  with  the  stamp  of  approval  of 
their  teachers  and  superiors  upon  their 
efforts.  And  so  we  are  glad  to  form 
part  of  the  crowd  which  today  showers 


84  ADDRESSES  AND   SERMONS 

you  with  plaudits,  with  flowers  and 
with  good  wishes. 

Finally,  we  came  here  for  the  sake  of 
the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.  In  every 
great  city  there  is  an  annual  exhibition 
day  when  the  artists  exhibit  their 
paintings  and  sculpture.  This  is  their 
exhibition  day,  and  you  young  ladies 
are  their  works  of  art  that  are  today 
placed  on  exhibition.  By  you  and  the 
judgment  evoked  by  you,  will  they  be 
judged.  Today  we  form  part  of  the 
critical  public,  and  it  is  not  by  beauty 
of  form  or  features  that  we  will  judge 
you,  but  rather  by  the  scriptural  rule 
that:  "Favor  is  deceitful  and  beauty  is 
vain ;  the  woman  that  f  eareth  the  Lord, 
she  shall  be  praised."  So  would  you  add 
to  their  renown  as  teachers,  to  their 
pleasure  as  friends,  to  their  satisfaction 
as  Religious,  then  be  like  the  woman 
of  the  Gospel — devout,  exemplary,  re-, 
fined,  and  you  will  be  a  joy  not  only  to 
them  but  to  all  who  know  you. 


Address  at  the  Commencement  of  the  De  La 

Salle  Institute,  Chicago, 

June  2nd,  1916 

On  a  night  in  June,  twenty-nine  years 
ago,  I  received  my  first  diploma  and 
became  a  graduate  of  De  La  Salle  Insti- 
tute. When  I  look  around  me  tonight 
that  seems  almost  yesterday:  I  can 
scarcely  believe  that  it  happened  so 
long  ago  and  in  a  city  so  far  away.  The 
Brothers  look  to  be  the  same  Brothers, 
the  same  friendly  audience  is  before 
me,  and  I  hear  even  the  same  songs. 
The  boys  seem  almost  the  same  boys, 
except  perhaps  that  they  may  be  more 
in  number  and  handsomer  in  looks.  In 
my  day,  a  goodly  proportion  of  them 
were  preparing  for  the  priesthood,  but 
since  then  the  Latin  has  been  taken 
from  the  Brothers'  high-schools  and 
colleges.  With  other  graduates  I  felt 
sorry  when  this  happened,  for  we  knew 
the  good  work  the  Brothers  had  been 
doing  in  preparing  candidates  for  the 
Holy  Priesthood.  But  in  later  years  I 
have  come  to  another  conclusion.  It  is 
the  old  story,  "God's  ways  are  not  our 
ways."  This  change  has  forced  us,  first 
of  all  to  open  our  preparatory  sem- 


86  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

inaries  for  the  priesthood.  Then,  the 
Brothers  are  doing  better  work.  It  has 
put  them  at  the  kind  of  work  for  which 
they  are  perhaps  best  adapted,  and  in 
which  they  produce  the  best  results. 
Here  in  Chicago  they  are  now  training, 
preparing  and  educating  the  future 
business  men  of  the  city,  the  coming 
fathers  of  families,  the  supporting  pil- 
lars of  our  churches.  All  of  these 
young  men  are  going  out  into  the  offices 
and  workshops  of  this  great  city  and 
they  will  get  results.  They  know  what 
work  means,  for  the  Brothers  have 
made  them  work,  and  so  it  will  be  noth- 
ing new  to  them.  They  may  not  all 
become  rich  and  prominent,  but  they 
will  succeed — we  know  that. 

Then,  they  will  give  a  good  account 
of  themselves  spiritually.  It  does  not 
pay  to  make  any  comparisons  with 
other  Catholic  schools — they  are  all 
doing  splendid  work,  but  every  pastor 
knows  that  in  almost  every  case,  a  De 
La  Salle  graduate  is  a  loyal  parishioner, 
generous  according  to  his  means,  exem- 
plary in  his  habits ;  then,  too,  he  will  be 
respectful  to  the  clergy,  the  Brothers 
have  taught  him  that. 

Now,  young  men,  I  will  not  add  to 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  87 

the  advice  you  have  received.  I  will 
simply  voice  a  wish — breathe  a  prayer. 
In  an  ecclesiastical  procession  you  will 
notice  the  most  prominent  persons 
come  last.  You  are  the  last  of  a  long 
procession  of  graduates  from  this 
school.  The  others  have  been  worthy 
sons  of  De  La  Salle.  May  you,  the  last, 
like  the  wine  at  the  marriage-feast  of 
Cana,  prove  to  be  the  best  of  all! 


Address  at  the  Banquet  of  the  Irish  Fellowship 
Club,  Chicago,  March  17th,  1916 

When  it  was  announced  that  I  was  to 
leave  the  east  and  come  to  the  middle 
west,  one  of  the  metropolitan  dailies 
very  kindly  headed  a  rather  appre- 
ciative editorial  with  the  caption: 
"Brooklyn's  loss,  Chicago's  gain."  Fol- 
lowing that,  I  received  several  hundred 
letters,  congratulatory,  condoling  and 
otherwise  in  tone,  and  somewhere  in 
the  contents  of  nearly  all  of  them,  I 
ran  across  the  same  words:  "Brook- 
lyn's loss,  Chicago's  gain."  Now  when 
I  read  through  the  pages  of  our  coun- 
try's history,  when  I  look  over  the 
names  of  our  public  men  and,  more 
than  all,  when  I  view  the  past, 
the  present,  and  the  prospects  of  the 
future  of  the  Church  in  this  country,  I 
wonder  whether  I  cannot  say,  with  far 
more  truth,  with  much  deeper  feeling, 
even  with  selfish  gratification:  "Ire- 
land's loss,  America's  gain."  The  older 
I  become,  the  firmer  is  by  belief 
in  the  wondrous,  though  to  us  often 
inscrutable  guidance  of  Providence, 
and  sometimes  I  wonder  whether  God 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  89 

has  not  kept  Ireland  from  being  a 
nation  in  order  that  she  might  con- 
tribute the  larger  share  to  the  growth, 
to  the  greatness,  to  the  glory  of  the 
newer  lands  and  newer  peoples  who 
today  form  the  foremost  countries  in 
the  world.  After  all,  the  one  saint 
whose  feast-day  is  celebrated  the  world 
over,  in  the  cities  of  Europe,  Africa, 
Australia,  as  well  as  in  America,  is  the 
one  whose  birthday  we  commemorate 
today. 

Go  through  the  city's  streets  and 
you  will  find  men  and  women  who  have 
come  here  from  many  lands  and  who 
are  found  in  every  walk  of  life,  wear- 
ing a  bit  of  green  ribbon  to  celebrate 
the  day.  Wander  into  the  trenches  of 
Europe's  battlefields,  and  you  will  not 
be  able  to  count  the  little  sprigs  of 
shamrock  that  adorn  the  uniforms  of 
soldiers  who  are  not  at  all  Celtic,  either 
by  birth  or  by  descent.  On  this  very 
night  a  year  ago,  in  the  very  heart  of 
Germany,  where  were  gathered  the 
remnants  of  what  had  been  the  flower 
of  Britain's  army  when  war's  alarm 
first  sounded,  a  German  soldier  di- 
rected, German  musicians  accompanied, 
while  the  little  band  of  prisoners  of  war, 


90  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

in  broken  tones  and  with  tear-dimmed 
eyes,  sang:  "Come  back  to  Erin,  Ma- 
vourneen,  Come  back  again  to  the  land 
of  thy  birth."  And  tonight,  in  this 
great  city  of  Chicago,  the  city  of  our 
country's  destiny,  we  find  here  in  this 
gathering,  one  who  has  come  from  a 
distance,  who,  whether  in  victory  or  in 
defeat,  remains  the  best  beloved  of  our 
Presidents  in  two  generations  past — 
William  Howard  Taft.  All  these  are 
but  so  many  proofs  that  in  honoring 
Ireland's  saint,  the  world  is  honoring 
the  Irish  people,  the  people  who  have 
perhaps  contributed  more  to  the  bone 
and  sinew  of  this  country  than  any 
other:  the  people  who  have  given  more 
than  their  share  of  their  sons  to  the 
country's  defence  in  the  hour  of  peril, 
and  their  share,  too,  of  law-abiding 
citizens  in  the  tranquil  time  of  peace; 
the  people  who,  because  they  were  de- 
voted to  the  faith  of  their  fathers,  were 
none  the  less  loyal  to  the  country  of 
their  adoption.  Long  has  the  little 
emerald  Island  waited  for  its  freedom : 
longingly  have  the  Irish  people  looked 
for  the  day  when  Emmet's  epitaph 
might  be  written.  But  God  had  other 
work  for  them  to  do.  Their  mission 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  91 

was  not  in  their  own  land:  their  work 
awaited  them  elsewhere  than  at  home. 
Ireland  was  to  be  the  green-house 
whence  the  tiny  shoots  were  to  come, 
which,  transplanted,  would  make  the 
rest  of  the  world  a  flower-garden. 
The  warm-hearted  enthusiasm  of  the 
Irish  people,  their  attachment  to  their 
Church,  their  courage  in  danger  and 
their  sympathy  in  suffering,  and  last 
but  not  least  their  delicious  sense  of 
humor,  have  helped  to  bring  a  warmth 
of  color,  a  harmony  of  emotions,  and  a 
poetry  of  living  in  what  would  without 
them  be  a  rather  drab-colored  exist- 
ence in  our  English-speaking  countries. 

And  so  we,  my  fellow-guests  and  I, 
in  whose  veins,  much  to  our  regret, 
flows  no  Celtic  blood,  feel,  that  in  hon- 
oring their  patron-saint,  we  are  paying 
the  Irish  people  the  most  delicate  of 
compliments.  For,  after  all,  St.  Patrick, 
even  from  a  secular  standpoint,  was 
Ireland's  greatest  man.  He  was  the 
moulder  of  the  Irish  character,  he  was 
the  inspiring  spirit  of  Ireland's  mis- 
sion, he  is  today  and  will  be  until  the 
end  of  time  the  idol  of  every  Irishman's 
heart's  devotion. 

In  celebrating  this  day,  I  am  honor- 


92  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

ing  one  of  the  best  known  saints  in  the 
calendar  of  our  church.  In  coming 
here  this  evening,  I  am  paying  my 
tribute  of  appreciation  of  the  loyalty 
and  affection  of  the  largest  portion  of 
my  people,  whose  superior,  whose 
father,  whose  friend  I  am.  And  finally, 
I  trust  you  will  not  count  it  empty 
flattery  when  I  say  that  I  am  showing 
a  courtesy  to  one  of  the  greatest  of  our 
living  citizens,  for  even  to  an  arch- 
bishop of  Chicago,  it  is  a  privilege  to 
sit  at  a  table  that  is  graced  by  the 
presence  of  former  President  Taf t. 


Address  at  the  Celebration  of  the  One  Hundred 
and  Twenty-fifth  Anniversary  of  the  Proc- 
lamation of  the  Polish  Constitution, 
Delivered  in  the  Auditorium,  Chi- 
cago, May  3rd,  1916 

When  I  was  a  boy  there  lived  near 
me  a  couple  in  the  evening  of  life. 
Rarely  did  either  of  them  smile.  Every- 
body in  the  neighborhood  knew  their 
story:  they  had  six  fine,  manly-looking, 
well-behaved  sons  and  one  beautiful 
daughter.  Every  one  of  these  children 
grew  up,  apparently  in  splendid  health : 
but  as  soon  as  they  reached  the  age  of 
twenty  or  twenty-one,  each  in  turn  fell 
a  victim  to  tuberculosis,  withered  away 
and  died.  When  I  knew  them,  the  last 
of  the  sons  and  finally  the  daughter, 
the  best-beloved  of  them  all,  were  fol- 
lowing their  brothers  to  an  early  grave, 
— and  the  two,  father  and  mother,  were 
left  alone  in  the  deserted  home,  to  look 
forward  to  a  comfortless  old  age. 

Somehow,  today,  poor  deserted,  child- 
less Poland  reminds  me  of  that  humble, 
grief-stricken  home.  In  history,  where 
centuries  are  like  years,  we  can  look 
back  at  her  golden  age,  when,  glorious 
in  her  independence,  strong  in  her  faith 


94  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

and  virtue,  prominent  in  her  intelli- 
gence, her  children  were  gathered  by 
their  country's  fireside,  and  around  her 
flag  and  behind  her  king.  Then  came 
the  years  of  persecution,  of  suffering 
and  death,  and  there  began  the  exodus 
of  her  people  from  their  homes  into 
foreign  lands.  Year  after  year,  the 
home  became  more  deserted  and  lonely ; 
for,  as  soon  as  the  sons  and  daughters 
grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood, 
they  wandered  away  from  the  mother's 
side  into  lands,  where,  not  riches  per- 
haps, but  labor  awaited  them:  where, 
if  glory  did  not  come  to  them,  advance- 
ment was  not  denied  them:  where 
bread  for  themselves,  education  for 
their  children,  the  free  exercise  of  their 
ancestors'  religion,  might  be  theirs 
without  restraint.  And  now  the  day 
has  come  when  the  best-beloved  of  her 
children,  and  it  seems  almost  as  if  the 
last  of  them  too,  were  to  be  torn  from 
her. 

The  little  children  kneel  in  the 
street  and  beg  for  bread  from  the 
passer-by;  the  baby  grows  thinner; 
stiffens  and  dies  because  there  is  no 
milk  to  feed  it;  the  men  are  driven 
away  from  home,  if  not  into  the  armies, 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  95 

into  the  munition-factories ;  the  women 
are  left  at  home  alone,  hungry  and 
defenceless :  the  country  is  seared  as  if 
by  a  conflagration ;  the  cities  and  fields 
are  one  armed  camp;  almost  an  entire 
people  constitute  one  long  bread-line, 
young  and  old,  ignorant  and  learned, 
poor  and  once-rich,  standing  for  blocks, 
waiting  for  a  piece  of  bread  and  a  dish 
of  carrot  soup,  their  shoeless  feet  freez- 
ing in  the  falling  snow  and  slush : — this 
is  the  picture  today  of  the  once  proud 
and  prosperous  Polish  people.  And 
mind  you,  this  is  not  exaggerated. 
From  three  different  sources  have  I 
heard  the  same  tale,  each  time  from 
one  who  was  there  and  saw  these  things 
with  his  own  eyes,  each  time  from  one 
who  said  that  half  had  not  been  told 
of  what  this  poor  people  had  suffered. 
So  has  calamity  come  to  a  land  and  a 
nation  that  has  harmed  no  one,  that 
has  sought  no  war,  that  has  not  even 
risen  to  demand  its  freedom.  And  this 
savagery  has  taken  place,  not  in  the 
wilds  of  Africa,  not  in  the  so-called 
dark  ages,  but  in  this  enlightened 
twentieth  century,  in  a  civilized  Eu- 
rope, between  so-called  Christian  na- 
tions, in  the  cruelest  war,  perhaps,  that 


96  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

the  world  has  ever  seen ;  a  war  between 
two  nations,  not  for  patriotism,  but  for 
the  commercial  supremacy.  And  while 
you,  the  exiled  children  of  Poland,  have 
cause  to  weep  in  this  darkest  hour  in 
the  history  of  the  Polish  nation,  the 
rest  of  the  world  has  good  reason  to 
hang  its  head  in  shame  at  the  picture 
of  what  our  boasted  civilization  is  ac- 
complishing today.  Today  you  have 
been  formally  celebrating  the  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of 
the  proclamation  of  the  Polish  Consti- 
tution, and  yet  your  mother-country's 
independence  seems  farther  away  than 
ever. 

Yet  who  will  deny  that  perhaps  it 
may  be  for  the  best?  God's  ways  are 
not  our  ways.  Little  more  than  a  gen- 
eration has  passed  and  see  what  your 
people  have  here  accomplished !  I  verily 
believe  that  God  has  sent  you  here,  that 
He  has  driven  you  from  your  own 
country,  so  that  your  faith,  which  has 
withstood  the  storms  of  seven  centuries 
of  persecution,  might  be  transplanted 
like  a  hardy  sapling  in  this  soil  of  a 
newer  land;  that  your  virtue,  your 
patience,  your  loyalty,  might  be  infused 
into  the  Church  in  these  United  States 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  97 

and  add  to  its  strength  and  its  virility; 
that  your  flesh  and  your  blood,  un- 
spoiled by  vices  or  excesses,  might  add 
to  the  bone  and  sinew  of  this  nation, 
and  especially  of  this  city.  The  Lord 
has  made  your  people  a  missionary  race, 
for  wherever  they  have  gone  they  have 
brought  as  their  most  precious  posses- 
sion the  faith  of  their  fathers,  the 
Church,  to  which  they  have  proved 
loyal  through  centuries  of  hunger,  of 
persecution,  of  suffering,  of  death  itself. 
When  I  came  to  Chicago,  I  was  grate- 
ful to  God  that  He  had  sent  me  to  the 
second  largest  Polish  city  in  the  world. 
I  was  proud  of  you,  because  here  your 
children  were  gaining  advancement, 
education,  comfort,  success,  denied  to 
them  in  their  native  land.  And  on  this 
celebration  of  your  country's  anniver- 
sary, my  prayer  is  that  the  Lord  may 
comfort  your  stricken  people  at  home, 
and  soon  bring  about  an  end  of  this 
dreadful  nightmare  of  war  that  hangs 
over  them,  and  vampire-like  is  sucking 
away  their  very  life-blood:  and  then, 
that  the  Lord  may  grant  that  you  in 
this  newer  land,  whether  it  be  your 
adopted  or  your  native  land,  may  never 


98  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

by  any  act  of  yours,  prove  unfaithful 
to  that  most  precious  heritage  of  your 
people,  the  dearly-loved  Catholic  faith, 
to  which  they  have  ever  been  so  true. 


Address  to  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians, 
Chicago,  March  17th,  1917 

Before  I  came  to  this  city  I  received  a 
pressing  invitation  to  attend  a  banquet 
on  St.  Patrick's  night  this  year  and  re- 
spond to  one  of  the  toasts.  I  delayed 
my  acceptance,  as  it  was  my  firm  de- 
termination to  attend  but  one  function 
of  this  kind;  then,  having  learned  of 
the  high  standing  of  the  Irish  Fellow- 
ship Club  of  Chicago,  I  accepted  their 
invitation  and  promised  to  come.  Then 
came  another  invitation  from  the  An- 
cient Order  of  Hibernians,  and  in 
conformity  with  the  rule  I  had  made, 
I  was  about  to  decline.  But  then  my 
memory  went  back  to  the  time  when  I 
was  a  boy  and  I  remembered  how  no 
cornerstone-laying  was  complete  and 
no  dedication  of  a  new  church  valid, 
unless  this  Ancient  Order  was  present 
in  full  regalia.  And  I  remembered,  too, 
they  had  a  bit  of  green  tied  into 
the  button-holes  of  their  coats,  but 
they  had  a  bit  of  green  pressed  tight  in 
the  fist  of  their  right  hands  too,  which 
would  disappear  into  the  basket  when 


100  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

the  collection  was  being  taken  up,  and 
as  a  result — well,  you  see  I  have  come. 
Today,  for  a  very  large  portion  of  my 
people,  is  one  of  the  great  feast-days 
of  the  year,  for  on  this  day  we  com- 
memorate one  of  God's  greatest  saints, 
the  Apostle  of  Ireland,  St.  Patrick. 
When  we  carefully  read  the  life  of  this 
Saint,  we  are  amazed  at  how  much  one 
man  could  accomplish  in  a  lifetime. 
On*  sentence  is  sufficient  to  describe 
his  apostolic  work.  He  found  Ireland 
pagan  and  he  left  it  Christian.  Born 
at  the  close  of  the  fourth  century  of 
noble  parentage,  probably  in  Scotland 
(though  this  is  not  certain),  he  was  at 
an  early  age  taken  captive  by  roving 
bands  and  brought  to  Ireland.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-three,  he  was  set  free 
and  came  to  France,  and  there,  under 
the  guidance  of  his  uncle,  St.  Martin  of 
Tours,  for  nearly  twenty  years  he  pre- 
pared himself  for  the  great  work  of 
evangelizing  the  Irish  race.  Having 
been  consecrated  bishop  by  Pope  St. 
Celestine,  he  began  his  mission  in  Ire- 
land where  he  labored  for  more  than 
half  a  century,  when  God  called  him  to 
the  place  prepared  for  him  in  heaven. 
It  is  almost  incredible  how  much  he  ac- 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  101 

complished.  His  work  seems  a  constant 
repetition  of  the  miracle  performed  on 
that  first  Pentecost  Sunday.  His  con- 
verts numbered  not  thousands,  but  tens 
and  almost  hundreds  of  thousands.  He 
established  more  than  three  hundred 
churches,  ordained  more  than  two  thou- 
sand priests:  he  baptized  the  warrior 
chiefs  and  kings  with  all  their  subjects : 
many  youths  and  maidens  embraced 
the  religious  life;  and  all  over  Ireland 
schools,  convents  and  monasteries  arose 
during  his  lifetime.  Yet  during  those 
years  of  strenuous  activity,  he  led  a  life 
of  constant  prayer,  spending  the  best 
part  of  every  night  in  meditation  and 
prayer  and  seeking  rest  on  the  stone 
floor  for  but  an  hour  or  two.  And  full 
of  years,  this,  one  of  the  greatest  men 
in  history,  was  called  by  his  loving 
Master  in  the  year  492. 

What  shall  we  say  of  his  work?  We 
estimate  a  man's  work  by  the  fruits 
and  results  of  the  same.  How  can  we 
really  estimate  the  great  work  of  St. 
Patrick?  The  country  which  he  evan- 
gelized and  for  which  he  prayed  has 
remained  more  faithful  to  the  Church 
than  any  other  nation  upon  earth. 
France  has  had  her  goddess  of  reason 


102  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

and  exiled  her  clergy.  Italy  persecuted 
her  Popes:  Germany  revolted  as  a  na- 
tion: England  chose  a  King  for  her 
spiritual  head  in  preference  to  the 
Vice-gerent  of  the  King  of  Kings.  Ire- 
land alone  remained  faithful  as  a  na- 
tion, and  never  even  for  an  hour,  denied 
the  Faith  taught  her  by  St.  Patrick.. 
"And  under  God,"  says  an  Irish  author, 
"to  what  can  we  attribute  this  but  to 
the  prayers  of  St.  Patrick?  The  Irish 
race  was  confided  to  his  keeping  until 
the  day  of  Doom,  and  well  has  he 
guarded  his  charge." 

But  the  work  of  St.  Patrick  through 
the  Irish  race  was  not  confined  to  Ire- 
land alone.  There  was  a  time  when  the 
little  green  isle  jutting  out  into  the 
broad  Atlantic  was  the  place  of  pil- 
grimage for  the  learned  and  holy  the 
world  over,  when  it  was  the  isle  of  the 
teachers  and  the  saints.  But  that  day 
has  long  since  passed  and  the  cheerful 
little  island  has  become  sad,  like  a 
lonely  mother  whose  children  have  gone 
from  her  side  forever.  Yet  even  in  her 
affliction  God  had  great  things  in  store 
for  the  land  sanctified  by  the  labors  of 
St.  Patrick,  consecrated  by  the  lives  of 
countless  holy  men  and  women,  for  God 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  103 

has  made  her  children  an  apostolic 
race :  He  has  scattered  them  to  the  four 
winds  of  heaven,  and  wherever  they 
have  gone  they  have  retained  as  their 
precious  possession  the  heritage  they 
received  from  St.  Patrick.  Their  men 
warm-hearted  and  generous,  their 
women  loving  and  virtuous,  all  of  them 
proud  of  their  Church,  they  have  made 
the  Faith  respected  wherever  they  have 
gone,  and  though  poor  perhaps  as  the 
proverbial  church-mouse,  yet  it  is  their 
pennies — almost  their  last  sometimes — 
that  have  built  the  grand  monuments  to 
their  God  and  in  honor  of  His  saints. 

And  you,  the  sons  and  daughters  of 
Erin,  and  you,  too,  who,  though  born  in 
a  newer  land,  have  Irish  blood  coursing 
through  your  veins,  thank  God  that  in 
His  great  mercy  and  goodness  He  has 
given  you  and  your  race  so  watchful  a 
father,  so  powerful  a  protector  as  St. 
Patrick.  And  it  is  my  one  prayer,  as 
your  bishop  and  your  leader,  that  the 
great  Apostle  may  obtain  for  you  that 
one  grace  to  remain  ever  steadfast  in 
the  Faith  and  true  to  his  teachings  and 
that  none  of  yours  in  the  generations  to 
come  may  ever  prove  unworthy  of  the 
heritage  he  has  given  his  people,  and 


104  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

which,  notwithstanding  poverty  and 
want,  cold  and  hunger,  persecution  and 
even  death  itself,  they  have  preserved, 
ever  faithful,  ever  true,  through  six- 
teen centuries. 


Address  to  the  Catholics  of  German  Descent, 
Chicago,  September  24th,  1916 

During  the  time  I  have  been  in  this 
great  cosmopolitan  diocese,  I  have 
spoken  to  people  of  many  nationalities. 
On  St.  Patrick's  Day  I  addressed  the 
children  of  the  little  Green'  Isle  beyond 
the  seas.  Again  later,  on  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  proclamation  of  their  coun- 
try's Constitution,  I  spoke  to  the  United 
Polish  Societies  of  Chicago.  Later 
again  to  a  small  gathering  of  the  de- 
scendants of  those  who  came  from 
France  and  French  Canada  and  more 
than  two  generations  ago  made  their 
home  'in  this  diocese.  Today  for  the 
first  time  I  appear  before  the  German 
Catholics  of  Chicago,  and  as  I  speak  to 
them,  it  is  with  a  particular  feeling  of 
gratification,  for  I  now  remember  that 
nearly  one  hundred  years  ago,  my  great 
grandfather's  father  was  one  of  the 
little  band  who  helped  old  Father  Raff- 
einer  to  build  the  first  German  Catholic 
Church  in  the  United  States.  Two  or 
more  years  ago  it  was  a  distinction  to 
be  known  as  a  German-American.  To- 
day one  almost  mentions  it  under  his 


106  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

breath.  Why?  It  seems  to  me  that  it 
is  rather  late  in  the  day  to  ask  the 
German- American  to  prove  his  patriot- 
ism. He  did  that  more  than  a  half 
century  ago.  I  dislike  to  bring  in  the 
personal  element,  but  in  1860,  at  Lin- 
coln's first  call  for  volunteers,  my 
grandfather  left  his  wife  and  little  chil- 
dren to  fight  for  the  flag  and  the  union, 
and  one  thousand  Germans  went  with 
him  in  the  same  regiment  and  less  than 
one-third  of  the  number  lived  to  return 
to  their  homes  and  families.  In  this 
way  did  the  German-Americans  show 
their  love  for  this  country  in  1860,  and 
now  in  1916  you  will  find  among  them 
the  same  brand  of  patriotism  as  in  1860. 
That  does  not  mean  that  now,  when 
the  race  from  which  they  sprang  is 
fighting  for  its  national  life  and  their 
brothers  and  relatives  are  shedding 
their  blood  and  losing  their  lives  in  this 
awful  struggle,  they  do  not  sympathize 
with  their  motherland.  You  might  as 
well  expect  a  man  to  deny  his  own 
mother.  But  this  is  the  land  of  their 
adoption;  the  land  where  their  chil- 
dren were  born;  the  land  for  which 
they  have  left  father,  mother,  sister 
and  brother,  where  they  have  lived 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  107 

their  lives  and  where  their  bones  will 
rest,  and  they  love  it  even  as  a  man 
loves  his  Christian  spouse.  But,  they 
say,  where  will  the  German-American 
stand,  if  this  country  goes  to  war  with 
Germany?  Why  worry?  We  will  cross 
that  bridge  when  we  come  to  it,  and 
such  a  war  will  hardly  come  in  your  life 
or  mine.  Everybody  will  be  sick  of  war 
when  this  one  is  once  over,  for  a  good 
long  time.  And  if  it  should  come? 
Listen.  In  my  time  nearly  14,000  mar- 
riages have  come  to  my  attention.  Of 
many  of  them  I  knew  the  circumstances 
that  preceded  the  marriage  and  often 
the  events  that  followed.  Accidents 
will  happen  in  the  best  regulated  fami- 
lies, .and  sometimes  a  disturbance  would 
occur  between  a  young  wife  and  her 
mother-in-law.  My  experience  has  been 
that  almost  invariably  the  wife  won 
out,  and  I  suppose  yours  is  the  same. 
That  is  the  answer.  Now  to  the  matter 
at  issue. 

If  there  is  one  characteristic  that 
stands  out  in  the  German  people,  it  is 
their  faculty  for  organization.  Where- 
ever  they  have  gone  they  have  formed 
societies  for  men  and  for  women  and 
schools  for  the  children.  Especially  is 


108  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

this  true  with  the  German  Catholics. 
Not  only  have  there  been  the  many 
parish  societies,  but  those  societies 
later  on  have  united  and  there  has  been 
a  union  of  the  Catholic  Societies  in  a 
city  and  then  later  in  the  state  and 
finally  in  the  nation.  So  today  you 
have  the  Distrikts-Verband,  in  the  east 
called  Lokal-Verband,  the  Staats-Ver- 
band  and  the  Central  Verein.  And  in 
these  various  federations  you  can  find 
people  of  every  position  and  standing, 
priests  and  laymen.  One  of  the  last 
receptions  given  me  at  Brooklyn  was 
by  the  Lokal-Verband,  of  which  I  was  a 
member  until  the  time  of  my  departure. 

Now  there  is  an  element  of  strength 
in  union  of  this  kind,  and  the  great  pity 
is  to  see  that  strength,  not  exactly 
wasted,  but  unused.  It  is  like  seeing  a 
swiftly  flowing  river,  a  beautiful  fall  of 
water.  The  poet,  the  artist,  the  idealist 
when  he  sees  those  waters  would  ex- 
claim "my  what  a  beautiful  river,  what 
a  splendid  water  fall,  what  an  exquisite 
picture!"  The  practical  man  coming 
along  would  say,  "there  is  enough 
power  in  those  falls  to  generate  elec- 
tricity to  light  our  whole  town." 

I  have  been  at  conventions  and  have 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  109 

seen  a  great  gathering  of  men  and 
have  heard  them  learnedly  discuss  so- 
cial questions.  But  when  the  convention 
was  over  nothing  came  of  it  I  have 
heard  Bishops  say  "the  best  organized 
bodies  in  my  diocese  are  the  German 
societies,"  but  you  would  not  hear  of 
much  that  the  societies  had  done.  Now 
you  know  it  is  my  wish  that  every  large 
organization  in  this  big  city  be  given 
some  particular  problem  to  look  after 
as  its  own,  in  addition  to  the  first  object 
for  which  it  was  instituted.  Thus  I 
have  given  the  care  of  delinquent  boys 
to  the  Knights  of  Columbus;  the  care 
of  working  girls  to  the  Women  Forest- 
ers, and  within  the  next  few  weeks  I 
shall  assign  to  other  large  bodies  of 
men  and  women  similar  works  for  the 
common  good.  I  expect  them  not  only 
to  take  up  this  work,  but  that  they  will 
feel  honored  to  be  singled  out  for  spe- 
cial work  and  make  that  work  their 
own  in  very  earnest  and  carry  it  to  a 
successful  end.  Should  they  fail  my 
expectations  in  this  matter,  I  might  not 
say  much,  but  I  will  leave  them  severely 
alone  in  the  future  and  forget  all  about 
them.  I  don't  anticipate  any  danger  of 
that  kind,  however.  Now  I  have  some- 


110  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

thing  for  the  Distrikts-Verband  to  do, 
too — some  special  work,  for  here  is  all 
of  this  stored-up,  unspent  strength 
gathered  by  your  union,  like  hidden 
power,  and  I  want  to  make  use  of  it. 
I  want  to  harness  it  and  have  it  run  a 
machine,  a  machine  that  will  do  good. 
And  the  particular  work  is  one  that  is 
not  entirely  new  to  you;  in  fact,  we 
may  call  it  your  own  child,  as  part  of  it, 
at  least,  came  from  you.  It  is  a  new  line 
of  activity.  I  don't  know  whether  they 
have  it  anywhere  else.  It  has  been 
favorably  commented  upon  by  people 
outside.  It  is  called  the  Catholic  Em- 
ployment Bureau.  It  was  begun  by 
the  German  Catholic  Societies;  it  has 
grown  by  the  hard  work  of  a  few  men. 
Now  I  am  going  to  leave  it  in  the  care 
of  the  German  Societies.  If  it  turns 
out  a  success — and  there  is  no  reason 
why  it  should  not — let  them  have  the 
credit.  And  because  I  give  it  into  your 
care,  I  want  everyone  of  you  to  take 
an  interest  in  it.  It  is  a  work  for  the 
common  good,  it  is  an  endeavor  to 
help  our  neighbor,  it  is  an  outlet  for 
our  charity.  I  have  given  it  my  ap- 
proval, but  I  have  given  it  more  than 
that,  I  have  given  it  a  home,  I  have 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  111 

attached  it  to  a  work  with  which  it  is 
prominently  and  necessarily  connected, 
the  Holy  Cross  Mission  in  the  lodging 
house  section  of  the  city.  That,  too,  I 
would  commend  to  your  care  and  so- 
licitude. That  is  filling  a  real  need  in 
a  big  city  like  ours,  that  is  a  genuine 
work  of  charity.  We  are  making  this 
mission  something  worth  while,  some- 
thing we  can  be  proud  of.  I  should  like 
you  to  associate  in  some  way  with  this 
work,  to  help  it  along,  to  contribute 
even  a  little  to  its  success.  After  all,  it 
is  one  of  the  corporal  works  of  mercy 
to  clothe  the  naked,  to  feed  the  hungry, 
to  shelter  the  homeless  and  it  is  sure  to 
bring  its  reward,  a  reward  not  only  in 
the  life  to  come,  but  even  here.  It  will 
bring  God's  blessing  and  the  comfort 
of  having  helped  another,  into  your 
own  heart,  into  your  home,  to  those  you 
love  best, 


Prayer  at  the  Great  Bally  Under  the  Auspices 
of  the  State  Council  of  Defense,  Chicago 

Almighty,  Eternal  God,  Who  dost 
guide  our  destiny  and  hold  the  universe 
in  Thy  hand,  do  Thou  look  down  on  us 
this  day  and  hear  our  prayer:  bless  and 
protect  our  beloved  country  which  has 
been  for  countless  thousands  a  haven 
of  refuge  and  a  shelter  in  adversity: 
keep  it  ever  the  land  of  the  brave,  even 
as  it  is  now  the  home  of  the  free :  bless 
this  our  nation  which  Thou  hast  formed 
from  the  flesh  and  blood  of  many  na- 
tions and  tribes  and  peoples:  make  us 
ever  worthy  of  the  blessings  Thou  hast 
showered  upon  us :  keep  us  united  as  a 
people,  loyal  to  our  flag,  devoted  to  our 
country  and  our  country's  cause,  mind- 
ful of  those  ideals  of  freedom  and 
democracy  on  which  our  fathers  have 
built  this  Republic  and  which  have 
made  this  nation  great,  and  in  this,  the 
hour  of  our  country's  trial,  from  a 
spirit  of  bitterness  and  the  traitorous 
tongue,  deliver  us,  0  Lord.  Bless  and 
guide  our  President  in  these  troublous 
days  when  his  burden  has  become  so 
heavy:  give  him  the  light  to  see  the 
right  and  the  courage  to  do  it:  bless 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  113 

these  Thy  children  who  stand  here 
bowed  before  Thee,  for  they  have 
placed  on  the  altar  of  their  country 
their  nearest  and  dearest,  not  gold  or 
treasures,  but  bone  of  their  bone  and 
flesh  of  their  flesh,  their  sons,  who  wear 
their  country's  uniform  and  are  en- 
rolled in  her  army  and  navy:  heal  the 
wounds  that  the  parting  has  caused, 
repay  them  the  sacrifices  they  have 
made,  have  their  children  ever  in  Thy 
keeping  here  and  hereafter:  bless  our 
army  and  our  navy,  give  victory  to  our 
arms,  and  make  that  peace  that  will 
crown  our  efforts  be  lasting,  glorious 
and  forever  pleasing  in  Thy  sight, 
through  Christ  Our  Lord.  Amen. 


Address  at  the  Silver  Jubilee  Celebration  of  the 

First  Slavonian  Catholic  Church,  Joliet, 

Illinois,  October  22nd,  1916 

I  feel  that  this  Jubilee  Day  would  be 
incomplete  for  you  without  a  word  of 
appreciation  from  your  Archbishop, 
who  has  come  to  share  in  your  joy  and 
gladness.  This  day  is  indeed  a  feast  of 
congratulations  and  thanksgiving — 
first  of  all  for  you,  the  people  of  this 
mother-church  of  the  Slavonians  in  this 
country.  For  a  quarter  century  this 
parish  has  been  here  to  welcome  you  as 
you  came  from  your  fatherland  beyond 
the  seas.  Here  the  gospel  was  preached 
to  you,  the  Sacraments  were  adminis- 
tered to  you,  the  faith  of  your  fathers 
taught  to  your  children  in  your  mother- 
tongue  as  well  as  the  language  of  their 
adopted  country.  Here  you  found 
peace  and  comfort  and  strength  amidst 
the  hard  labor,  the  many  trials,  the 
constant  privations  of  your  life. 

Then,  too,  this  should  be  a  day  of 
rejoicing  for  this  Pentecostal  city  of 
Joliet,  where  the  gospel  is  preached  in 
ten  languages.  For  twenty-five  years 
this  church  has  stood  here  as  a  citadel 
of  law  and  order,  a  bulwark  against 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  115 

anarchy  and  rebellion,  a  place  of  educa- 
tion and  religion.  How  long  will  it  take 
our  cities  and  our  country  to  recognize 
the  great  good  our  churches  do  in  pro- 
moting the  peace  and  contentment  we 
do  now  enjoy?  What  would  happen 
here  and  elsewhere  were  there  no  Cath- 
olic churches  to  guide  the  newcomer  to 
our  shores,  to  censor  his  conduct,  to 
instruct  his  children? 

Finally,  it  is  a  day  of  gratitude 
for  me,  too.  I  thank  Almighty  God 
this  morning  for  the  zealous,  faithful 
priests  who  have  ministered  to  you 
during  those  twenty-five  years,  particu- 
larly the  founder  and  first  pastor, 
whose  parish  first  extended  from  the 
Atlantic  almost  to  the  Pacific,  who 
covered  so  many  thousands  of  miles, 
baptizing,  ministering,  comforting  his 
scattered  people,  and  who  finally,  a  few 
short  years  ago,  broken  by  his  apostolic 
labors,  went  into  retirement  to  prepare 
for  his  death.  I  thank  Almighty  God, 
because  He  has  sent  you  to  this  diocese, 
you  people  of  strong  physique  and 
stronger  faith,  who,  with  your  blood 
unspoiled  by  vices  and  excesses  and 
your  minds  unsullied  by  immoral  doc- 
trines, will  add  to  the  strength,  to  the 


116  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

bone  and  sinew,  of  this  people  in  the 
years  to  come.  I  congratulate  you  on 
what  you  have  accomplished  during 
these  twenty-five  years,  but  I  trust  that 
this  day  will  mark  the  beginning  of 
even  greater  effort  for  the  material 
well-being  of  your  parish  and  the  spir- 
itual advancement  of  its  people.  And 
I  unite  my  prayers  with  yours,  for  the 
one  thought  is  uppermost  in  all  our 
minds  this  morning  even  in  the  midst 
of  our  rejoicing — that  the  Lord  may 
soon  end  this  awful  war  that  has  ha- 
rassed and  laid  waste  your  unfortunate 
and  distressed  country,  and  bring  peace 
and  contentment  again  to  your  broth- 
ers, friends  and  relatives,  who  are  daily 
and  hourly  facing  the  danger  of  death. 
Now  to  complete  our  joy,  I  bring  you 
the  blessing  of  the  common  father  of 
us  all,  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  that  his 
name  may  ever  be  linked  with  this  day 
in  your  memories! 


Address  at  the  Golden  Jubilee  Celebration  of 

the  Rev.  William  Netstraeter,  Wilmette, 

Illinois,  September  30th,  1917 

Today  I  come  here  as  the  head  of  the 
diocese  to  take  part  in  the  joy  and  fes- 
tivity that  is  felt  in  this  parish  from 
end  to  end,  among  young  and  old,  rich 
and  poor,  Catholic  and  non-Catholic, 
because  the  pastor  here  has  completed 
the  golden  circle  of  his  priestly  years, 
because  Father  Netstraeter  has  served 
God  and  ministered  to  man  for  a  half 
century,  and  because  nearly  all  of  that 
time  was  spent  in  this  place.  It  is 
rather  in  the  capacity  of  spokesman 
that  I  am  here  this  morning — to  ex- 
press" your  appreciation  of  the  many 
kindnesses  he  has  shown  you  during 
the  years  he  has  been  in  your  midst; 
the  affection  that  is  in  your  hearts  for 
one  who  has  been  your  spiritual  father 
for  so  long;  the  gratitude  you  feel  to 
the  priest  of  the  Most  High  who  has 
ministered  to  three  generations  of  the 
people  of  this  town. 

We  of  a  younger  generation  are  apt 
to  forget  how  arduous  were  the  labors, 
how  many  were  the  sacrifices,  how 
great  was  the  toil  of  those  early  mis- 


118  ADDRESSES  AND   SERMONS 

sionaries  of  this  diocese.  The  distances 
were  great,  the  conveniences  were  few, 
the  faithful  were  scattered  in  those 
days.  The  jubilarian  of  today  is  one 
of  the  links  that  bind  us  of  the  present 
to  the  missionaries  of  that  early  day. 
He  suffered  privations  with  them  and 
God  has  granted  him  to  help  reap  the 
fruits  of  their  labors  with  us.  He 
helped  to  sow  the  seed  of  God's  word 
with  them,  but  few,  pitifully  few,  have 
survived  to  gather  in  the  great  har- 
vest with  us,  although  the  crowded 
churches,  the  well-filled  schools,  the 
flourishing  institutions  are  largely  the 
results  of  their  worL 

And  so  this  morning  his  younger 
brethren  of  the  clergy  have  come  here 
together  with  his  people,  that  kneel- 
ing with  him  at  this  altar,  where  he  has 
so  long  ministered,  they  might  thank 
Almighty  God  for  having  given  Father 
Netstraeter  the  gift  to  serve  Him  as 
His  priest  for  a  half  century,  for  hav- 
ing left  him  here  in  this  place  for  more 
than  two  score  years,  to  benefit  them 
with  his  priestly  work  and  edify  them 
with  his  priestly  life.  Usually  a  Golden 
Jubilee  has  a  tinge  of  sadness.  It  seems 
like  a  golden  sunset,  the  end  of  a  per- 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  119 

feet  day,  almost  like  a  solemn  farewell, 
when  everybody  is  outwardly  smiling 
but  inwardly  hiding  his  tears.  But  not 
so  today.  No  one  can  look  at  the  clear 
skin  and  the  quick  bright  eye  of  our 
youthful  septuagenarian  and  not  recog- 
nize that  after  all  there  is  a  great  deal 
of  truth  in  the  saying  that  a  man  is 
only  as  old  as  he  looks  and  surely  not  a 
day  older  than  he  feels.  So,  confidently 
I  offer  my  good  wishes  to  Father  Net- 
straeter  this  morning,  praying  that  the 
Lord  may  spare  him  for  many  years; 
that  each  year  may  treat  him  more 
kindly  than  its  predecessor,  make  him 
more  acceptable  to  his  Master  and 
dearer  to  his  people,  make  him  more 
revered  among  the  clergy  and  beloved 
by  the  laity;  that  the  years  may  pass 
for  him  quickly  and  happily  until  an- 
other jubilee  day  twenty-five  years 
hence,  when  the  golden  leaves  of  his 
priestly  crown  of  today  will  have  be- 
come diamond-studded  with  the  passage 
of  time. 


Address  at  the  Conferring  of  the  Knighthood  of 

St.  Gregory  the  Great  on  Sir  John  B. 

Murphy,  M.D.,  Mercy  Hospital, 

Chicago,  June  15th,  1916 

When  a  few  months  ago  I  came  to 
this  great  city,  I  was  particularly 
moved  by  the  demonstration  of  loyalty 
that  came  from  the  laity  of  the  diocese. 
I  was  desirous  of  showing  my  appre- 
ciation of  this,  but  I  was  at  a  loss  as  to 
what  form  that  recognition  should 
take.  Then  I  remembered  that  long 
before  I  had  come  here,  I  had  heard  of 
this  "Mercy  Hospital,"  which  had  taken 
its  place  in  the  front  rank  of  the  hos- 
pitals of  this  country,  classed  with  but 
few  of  them,  surpassed  by  none;  and 
that  the  greatness  of  this  hospital  was 
largely  due  to  the  activities  of  one  man 
therein.  Long  before  I  had  come  here 
had  I  heard  of  Dr.  John  B.  Murphy,  of 
his  wonderful  skill  in  surgery,  of  his 
success  in  operations,  of  his  discoveries 
in  science,  of  his  untiring  energy  in 
humanity's  cause:  years  before  I  had 
come  here  I  had  heard  of  Dr.  Murphy's 
skill  as  a  surgeon:  as  soon  as  I  had 
come  here  I  learned  of  his  prominence 
as  a  Catholic,  of  his  charity  to  priests 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  121 

and  religious,  of  his  devotion  to  his 
faith  and  his  church.  I  learned  how  for 
years  he  had  been  a  model  and  an  in- 
spiration to  young  men  in  the  parish 
in  which  he  lived  by  his  frequent  and 
devout  reception  of  the  Sacraments. 
And  I  decided  then  that  I  could  find  no 
way  more  fitting  to  honor  the  laity  of 
Chicago,  than  by  honoring  this  man 
who  had  brought  honor  and  distinction 
to  his  Church.  All  this  I  wrote  to  the 
Holy  Father,  asking  him  to  bestow 
some  signal  proof  of  his  paternal  and 
sovereign  favor  upon  our  Dr.  Murphy, 
of  whom  we  feel  so  proud.  The  hos- 
pital is  proud  of  him,  for  what  he  has 
done  for  it:  his  profession  is  proud  of 
him,  for  he  is  one  of  its  most  illustrious 
members:  Chicago  and  its  citizens, 
Catholic  and  non-Catholic,  are  proud  of 
him,  for  he  is  one  its  most  distinguish- 
ed citizens,  one  who  has  made  its  name 
known  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land:  his  Archbishop  is 
proud  of  him,  because  he  has  been,  and 
is,  one  of  the  Church's  most  devoted 
children.  In  response  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  has  conferred  on  him  the 
highest  honor  the  Holy  See  grants  to  a 
layman. 


122  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

The  honor  is  so  much  the  greater, 
because  it  is  bestowed  at  the  Arch- 
bishop's request,  without  the  solici- 
tation, or  even  the  knowledge,  of 
any  of  the  Doctor's  friends,  priest  or 
layman, — and  what  is  more,  it  is  the 
first  favor  requested  by  me  from  the 
Holy  See,  and  is  the  first  time  an  Arch- 
bishop of  Chicago  has  personally  asked 
for  any  honor  for  a  layman.  It  will 
make  this  day  doubly  memorable  in 
the  annals  of  this  institution,  for  in  the 
Papal  document  mention  is  made  of 
"Mercy  Hospital."  It  will  be  good  news 
to  all  Chicago,  for  it  is  an  honor  done  to 
this  city  and  its  citizens.  Moreover,  it 
is  the  fulfillment  of  a  pleasant  duty  for 
me,  for  usually  we  churchmen  leave  our 
recognition  of  a  good  man  to  be  ex- 
pressed over  his  cold  clay.  But  this  even- 
ing I  can  voice  my  appreciation  of,  and 
my  gratitude  for  Dr.  Murphy's  past 
services,  who  becomes  a  Knight  Com- 
mander of  the  Order  of  St.  Gregory  the 
Great,  and  express  my  fondest  hope 
that  he  may  honor  this  honor  for  many 
years  to  come.  Dr.  Murphy,  men  and 
women  may  have  overwhelmed  you 
with  gifts  of  gratitude,  because  you 
have  restored  them  to  health.  Univer- 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  123 

sities  and  homes  of  learning  may  have 
heaped  honors  and  titles  on  you  for 
your  work  in  the  cause  of  science.  But 
this  is  the  best  of  all,  for  it  is  the 
recognition  on  the  part  of  Holy  Mother 
Church  of  the  loyalty  of  a  dutiful  son, 
of  whose  progress  she  is  justly  proud. 


A  Tribute  to  a  Departed  Friend — Funeral  Dis- 
course 

On  the  rare  occasion  when,  to  the 
burial  service,  we  add  a  sermon,  the 
purpose  of  our  words  is  generally 
threefold: — first,  to  remind  those 
who  are  present  of  the  certainty 
that  death  will  come  to  each  one 
even  as  it  came  to  the  one  whose 
earthly  remains  await  the  last  blessing 
of  Holy  Church,  and  of  the  uncertainty 
of  the  time  and  place  of  the  summons. 
Secondly,  to  record  the  esteem  in  which 
those  who  knew  well  the  deceased  held 
him  and  as  a  last  earthly  tribute  to  him 
and  a  remembrance  for  those  near  and 
dear  who  mourn  him.  Finally,  to  ask 
those  who  listen,  of  their  charity  to 
pray  for  the  departing  soul's  eternal 
rest  and  peace. 

A  week  ago  little  did  any  of  us  think 
that  to-day  we  should  assist  at  the 
requiem  of  our  dear  departed  friend; 
little  did  he  himself  expect  it.  Death 
came  to  him,  as  it  is  going  to  come  to 
many  of  us  here,  in  a  hurry,  with  but 
scant  warning,— -came  not  at  the  end  of 
many  years,  but  right  at  the  noontime 
of  life.  Such  a  death  is  a  lesson ;  but  a 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  125 

lesson  that,  no  matter  how  often  re- 
peated, so  many  of  us  never  learn. 

But  in  the  midst  of  all  of  our  sorrow, 
there  is  a  ray  of  sunshine,  for  he  had 
learned  that  lesson.  When  death  came 
to  him,  he  met  it  unafraid.  The  word 
that  reached  me  on  the  morning  of  his 
death  was  that  he  edified  all  by  the 
faith  and  devotion  he  manifested  when 
receiving  the  last  Sacraments.  After  all 
that  was  only  what  we  would  have  ex- 
pected of  him,  for  he  really  lived  for 
that  moment.  He  had  seen  it  come  to 
others,  he  had  known  it  must  come  to 
him,  and  so  he  lived  that  it  might  not 
find  him  unprepared.  After  all,  the 
Master  Himself  laid  down  the  require- 
ments for  obtaining  eternal  life  after 
death,  "Love  God  with  thy  whole  heart 
and  thy  whole  mind  and  love  thy  neigh- 
bor as  thyself." 

Very  few  men  have  loved  their  neigh- 
bor according  to  the  Gospel  command 
as  did  the  one  whose  lifeless  body  lies 
here.  He  was  one  of  the  most  dutiful 
and  considerate  sons  a  parent  ever  had, 
and  his  love  for  them  warmed  the  de- 
clining years  of  the  father  and  mother 
who  had  done  so  much  to  make  him 
the  good  man  that  he  was  by  their 


126  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

example  of  a  truly  Christian  life.  I  will 
not  speak  of  his  love  for  his  home  and 
his  family,  for  that  was  known  to  us  all. 
But  you  who  were  his  friends,  just 
search  your  memory  and  see  whether 
you  ever  found  anyone  who  loved  his 
neighbor  so  unselfishly  as  he. 

There  are  many  who  mourn  him  to- 
day whom  you  won't  find  among  the 
great  and  wealthy,  but  rather  among 
the  poor  and  lowly.  Only  the  recording 
angel  knows  how  many  a  poor  fellow 
he  helped  to  his  feet,  to  how  many  a 
family  he  gave  food  and  lodging,  for 
how  many  an  acquaintance  in  trouble 
he  obtained  another  chance. 

There  are  friends  to  whom  he  clung 
for  years,  for  whom  he  labored  day 
and  night,  for  whom  no  effort,  no  sac- 
rifice was  too  much,  for  whom  he  spent 
time  and  money  lavishly,  and  in  re- 
turn he  received  nothing,  he  asked  noth- 
ing. There  is  not  one  among  you  who 
can  ever  remember  him  to  have  done  a 
mean  act  He  would  scorn  to  do  a  cruel 
or  dishonest  thing  to  another  so  as  to 
himself  profit  thereby.  He  was  one  of 
the  kindest  men  I  have  ever  known, 
one  of  the  most  unselfish  friends  I  have 
ever  had,  one  of  the  truest  gentlemen  I 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  127 

have  ever  met.  Did  it  profit  him? 
Maybe  not  in  a  worldly  sense.  But  he 
has  left  his  children  something  that 
money  and  position  can  never  buy,  the 
memory  of  a  father  who  was  an  ideal 
Christian  gentleman,  who  never  hurt 
anyone  weaker  or  poorer  than  himself, 
for  none  of  whose  actions  they  need 
ever  apologize. 

And  as  he  loved  his  neighbor  so,  too, 
did  he  love  his  God.  He  was  always  a 
faithful  son  of  Mother  Church,  with  a 
simple  childlike  faith,  with  a  practical 
devotion  to  his  religious  duties.  He 
never  tried  or  even  thought  of  disguis- 
ing his  religion,  and  those  outside  the 
Church  thought  so  much  the  more  of 
him  for  it.  The  result  was  that  the 
Lord  was  with  him  to  the  end  and  gave 
him  the  fitting  end  of  a  good  life,  a 
happy  death. 

And  now  that  he  has  passed  the 
portals  of  eternity,  would  we  call  him 
back  to  life  if  we  could?  Maybe  for 
those  who  still  need  him,  yes;  but  for 
himself,  no, — for  he  has  completed  the 
journey  we  all  must  make,  he  has 
crossed  into  the  great  hereafter  whither 
we  all  must  go,  he  has  gone  to  meet 
God  whom  he  has  tried  to  serve,  and 


128  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

fortunate  are  we,  if  we  be  as  well  pre- 
pared as  was  he.  But  we  can  help  him 
still,  our  prayers  can  follow  him  on  his 
journey  and  by  them  we  may  wipe 
away  any  speck  of  earthly  weakness  on 
his  soul.  For  the  kindness  he  has  shown 
us,  for  the  favors  he  has  done  us,  for 
the  affections  he  had  for  us,  we  can  re- 
pay him  by  praying  for  him  that  the 
Lord  may  grant  him  rest. 

"Let  perpetual  light  shine  upon  him 
and  his  soul  rest  in  eternal  peace." 


Funeral  Oration  Over  the  Body  of  the  Most 

Rev,  Archbishop  John  Lancaster  Spalding, 

Former  Bishop  of  Peoria,  Illinois, 

in  the  Cathedral,  Peoria, 

August  29th,  1916 

"And  all  the  people  of  Israel  bewailed 
him  with  great  lamentation,  and  they 
mourned  him  for  many  days." — 1  Mac. 
90.  200. 

On  last  Friday  evening,  just  as  the 
sun  was  sinking,  just  as  the  day  was 
dying,  John  Lancaster  Spalding,  First 
Bishop  of  Peoria,  closed  his  eyes;  the 
angel  of  death  snapped  off  his  thread 
of  life  and  his  immortal  soul  went  be- 
fore its  Maker  to  render  the  account 
of  a  stewardship  of  seventy-six  years 
of  life,  of  half  a  century  in  the  priest- 
hood, and  of  an  episcopate  of  two  score 
years.  Today  you  have  come  to  say  a 
last  farewell,  to  whisper  a  prayer  for 
him  whose  voice  from  this  pulpit  so 
often  thrilled  you  and  fanned  to 
brighter  flame  your  love  for  God  and 
for  country;  and  I  have  come  here  this 
morning,  the  Metropolitan  of  this 
Province,  to  bury  a  Bishop  of  Illinois, 
to  bury  him,  hardly  to  praise  him.  For 


130  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

I  will  not  preach  his  panegyric.  There 
is  no  need.  In  your  souls,  memory  itself 
is  chanting  the  epic  of  this  noble  prel- 
ate's life.  I  will  just  help  you  gather  a 
few  flowers  in  the  garden  of  his  life, 
that  we  may  lay  them  as  an  humble 
tribute  in  the  still,  purple-gloved  hands, 
before  the  coffin  lid  shuts  out  forever 
the  face  and  form  of  one  who  for  so 
long  a  time  was  a  beloved  figure  in  your 
midst.  Nor  will  I  tarry  long,  for  again, 
this  is  not  a  eulogy,  just  a  simple  little 
tribute  to  him  who  was  a  militant 
churchman,  a  patriotic  citizen,  a 
famous  educator,  a  powerful  preacher, 
and  one  of  the  greatest  essayists  our 
country  has  produced. 

I  will  not  speak  of  the  simple  facts 
in  his  history — the  time  and  place  of  his 
birth,  his  ordination,  his  consecration; 
nor  will  I  mention  the  positions  that  he 
filled,  the  missions  he  attended,  the 
books  he  wrote;  neither  will  I  dwell 
upon  the  honors  that  came  to  him  in 
the  Church,  from  his  country,  from  his 
priests  and  people.  After  all,  you  who 
are  here  today  have  known  him  well. 
Some  of  you  were  his  spiritual  children, 
some  his  devoted,  loyal  priests,  all  his 
steadfast,  loving  friends.  To  you,  all 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  131 

these  things  are  well  known.  It  may  be 
that  some  gifted  pen,  inspired  by  a 
loving  soul,  may  some  day  leave  to 
posterity  the  history  of  this  wonder- 
ful life,  so  rich  with  material  for 
thought,  for  sermon  and  for  edification, 
that  I  wander  bewildered  in  trying  to 
choose  what  I  can  crowd  into  so  short 
a  review  of  an  interesting  career. 

There  seem  to  stand  out  in  his  public 
life  three  brilliant  characteristics  in 
which  Bishop  Spalding  was  almost 
without  a  peer  among  the  prelates  of  his 
time.  First  and  above  all,  as  a  writer 
he  stood  and  he  stands  foremost  among 
the  Bishops  of  this  country:  in  fact,  to 
find  his  superior  we  must  go  back  to 
the  men  of  old,  like  St.  Augustin,  St. 
Athanasus,  St.  Thomas  of  Aquin,  St. 
Bede.  I  do  not  think  that  even  the 
great  English  Catholic  writers,  New- 
man and  Manning,  can  equal  him  in 
beauty  of  diction  clothing  brilliancy  of 
thought,  while  it  is  acknowledged  on 
all  sides  that  as  an  essayist  the  Catholic 
Church  in  the  United  States  has  not 
produced  his  equal,  neither  among  the 
clergy  nor  among  her  people.  So,  too, 
as  an  orator.  We  have  had  great 
preachers  in  the  Church  in  the  years 


132  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

that  are  gone,  and  some  of  them  still 
live,  like  a  Keane  of  Dubuque,  and  an 
Ireland  of  St.  Paul;  but  they  them- 
selves would  be  the  first  to  admit  that 
the  highest  place  belongs  by  right  to 
Bishop  Spalding.  Perhaps  some  of  you 
now  recall,  how,  when  engrossed  in 
some  favorite  subject, — a  sermon  on  the 
necessity  of  religious  education  or  an 
oration  on  the  love  of  country — he 
would  soar  to  lofty  heights  of  oratory, 
carrying  you  breathless  with  him  and 
leaving  your  soul  deeply  moved  and 
long  inspired  by  his  brilliant  appeal. 
Yet  he  did  not  build  the  power  of  his 
plea  simply  on  his  mastery  of  the 
language:  he  was  gifted  with  an  ex- 
traordinarily keen  judgment  and  an 
analytical  mind  that  lent  an  edge  like  a 
scimitar-blade  to  the  arguments  he 
would  muster,  all  of  them  faultlessly 
arrayed  in  virile  language.  And  as  a 
result,  the  argument  he  put  forward  in 
defense  of  his  subject, — whether  it  was 
the  doctrines  of  the  Church  against  the 
taunts  of  an  atheist,  the  rights  of  the 
laboring  man  fighting  for  an  honest 
wage,  or  the  very  life  of  the  Republican 
government  against  the  assaults  of 
anarchistic  teachings, — become  irre- 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  133 

sistibly  convincing.  It  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  the  results  he  achieved 
were  due  even  more  to  his  hard  work, 
his  constant  study,  his  unremitting  ap- 
plication to  his  task,  than  to  his 
natural  talents.  Take  almost  any  one 
of  the  sentences  in  his  writings,  take 
any  period  in  his  fervent  appeals,  and 
you  will  not  find  an  ounce  of  useless 
matter,  not  an  unnecessary  word. 
Every  sentence  is  pared  down  and 
polished  like  a  finished  statuette  which 
has  just  left  the  chisel  of  a  careful 
sculptor.  I  have  heard  a  critic  who 
appreciated  his  writings  sum  up  the 
merits  of  his  works  in  these  words: 
"At  all  times  and  in  all  his  writings,  he 
was  interesting,  he  was  instructive,  he 
was  timely,  he  was  true." 

And  now  we  come  to  one  of  the  two 
subjects  dearest  to  his  heart.  We  can 
say  without  exaggeration  that  he  was 
the  peerless  champion  of  religious 
education,  as  he  was  its  fearless  de- 
fender. Again  and  again,  kindly, 
patiently,  yet  forcefully,  he  took  up 
weapons  in  its  defense,  never  in  his 
contest  forgetting  the  qualifications  of 
a  Christian  gentleman.  He  never  made 
the  mistake  of  decrying  or  denying  the 


134  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

good  points  of  a  secular  education,  but 
with  strong,  logical  arguments  he  in- 
dicated its  shortcomings  and  in- 
adequacies. He  believed  that  the  train- 
ing given  in  the  state  schools  and 
secular  universities  did,  by  its  very 
superiority,  if  you  will,  and  the  erudi- 
tion of  its  teachers  bring  the  intellect  to 
a  high  order  of  excellence,  while  it  left 
untouched  the  will,  the  very  controlling 
power  of  every  action;  the  heart,  the 
seat  of  all  emotion;  the  soul,  the  su- 
perior part  of  our  being, — and  that  it 
was  thus  more  likely  to  leave  disaster 
and  misfortune  in  its  wake.  With  even 
greater  zeal  he  labored  for  higher 
Catholic  education.  Those  who  heard 
his  masterly  effort  at  the  Third  Council 
of  Baltimore,  nearly  thirty  years  ago, 
have  never  forgotten  his  eloquent  plea 
for  a  national  Catholic  University.  In- 
deed, the  establishment  at  Washington 
of  that  institution  of  learning,  of  which 
we  are  so  proud  today,  is  due  in  a  great 
extent  to  his  efforts;  for,  he  did  not 
content  himself  with  mere  words,  but 
it  was  due  to  him  that  the  funds  were 
procured  with  which  the  first  of  its 
buildings  was  erected. 
And  the  other — it  is  rather  refresh- 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  135 

ing  in  these  days,  when  we  are  so  often 
accused  by  the  vicious  and  the  ignorant 
of  lack  of  patriotism  and  of  a  divided 
allegiance,  to  point  to  the  example  of 
this  leader  in  thought  and  in  action — 
with  him  love  of  country  amounted  to 
a  passion.  Descended  from  the  cavaliers 
who  came  to  these  shores  with  Lord 
Baltimore  and  who  first  gave  to  this 
country  freedom  of  conscience,  he  loved 
his  native  land  with  an  ardor  that  was 
surpassed  only  by  his  love  of  God. 
"Love  of  God  and  devotion  to  country" 
was  the  maxim  he  set  for  his  life.  And 
if  the  scriptural  adage  ''out  of  the 
abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth 
speaketh"  is  true,  then  we  must  judge 
that  rarely  did  a  statesman  who  made 
her  laws  or  a  soldier  who  defended  her 
flag  love  our  country  as  much  as  did 
Bishop  Spalding. 

When  I  come  to  his  personal 
character  and  his  private  life,  I  need 
only  leave  its  description  to  you.  You, 
his  priests,  will  not  soon  forget  him. 
You  had  labored  with  him  for  many 
years.  You  were  proud  of  him,  your 
bishop,  for  you  knew  it  gave  you  a  dis- 
tinction to  be  known  as  his  priests.  And 
yet,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he 


136  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

held  so  high  a  place  in  the  world's 
esteem,  to  you  he  was  always  approach- 
able. You  may  have  been  only  a  humble 
country  pastor  in  a  little  Illinois  village, 
yet  this  courtly  gentleman,  this  famous 
orator,  this  well-known  writer,  was  to 
you  always  a  father,  always  your 
bishop,  always  your  friend.  Some  of 
you,  now  grown  gray  in  the  service,  re- 
member how  kind  he  was  when,  as 
young  priests,  you  first  called  to  see 
him,  and  how  much  at  home  he  made 
you  feel.  And  when  there  came  an  hour 
of  worry,  a  time  of  depression,  the 
moment  when  you  needed  counsel,  such 
as  comes  to  nearly  every  priest,  and 
you  went  to  him,  you  went  away  with  a 
lighter  heart,  feeling  that  to  the 
obedience  and  reverence  you  had  given 
to  him  in  your  ordination,  you  now 
added  a  full  measure  of  filial  love,  of 
sacerdotal  affection,  of  implicit  con- 
fidence. 

He  was  ever  generous  to  his  people 
and  their  needs  in  his  charities.  There 
are  in  this  city  institutions  of  learning 
and  charity  that  are  largely  his  own 
personal  gifts.  These  are  the  things 
we  may  see  with  our  eyes  and 
grasp  with  our  hands.  And  those 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  137 

who  knew  him  well  know  that 
there  were  other  instances,  num- 
erous, but  unknown  to  all  but  God  and 
His  recording  angel,  in  which  he  helped 
works  of  religion  and  charity  or  re- 
lieved the  distress  of  individuals.  Per- 
sonally, you  remember  him  always  as 
a  gentleman,  polished,  cultured,  kind. 
After  all,  blood  will  tell,  and  he  was 
sprung  from  generations  of  gentle- 
men, and  had  inherited  the  best  of  their 
traditions.  While  he  could  be  equally  at 
home  with  rich  and  poor,  great  and 
lowly,  learned  and  ignorant,  yet  he 
could  ever  meet  the  best  of  them  all  on 
an  absolutely  equal  basis. 

I  shall  not  dwell  further  on  his  many 
other  lovable  qualities,  on  his  sense  of 
fairness  in  dealing  with  his  priests  and 
people,  on  his  unswerving  loyalty  to  his 
friends,  on  his  conscientious  adherence 
to  duty.  Let  me  pass  to  the  evening 
hours  of  his  life.  It  was  ten  years  ago 
that  illness  crippled  him  and  the  palsy 
numbed  his  faculties.  Deep  down  in  his 
heart  he  realized  that  the  end  of  a  use- 
ful career  as  a  public  man  had  come. 

He  made  his  preparations  to  lay  down 
the  heavy  cross  of  the  episcopate,  and 
within  three  years  he  transferred  the 


138  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

burden  to  younger  and  stronger 
shoulders  than  his  own.  But  eternity 
was  approaching — he  did  not  know  how 
soon  the  final  summons  might  come, 
and  for  that  he  wanted  to  prepare.  And 
so  he  withdrew  from  public  life,  where 
for  so  long  he  had  been  an  active 
figure :  he  gave  up  the  guidance  of  the 
church  of  which  he  had  been  so  fond: 
he  went  into  retirement  to  pray  and  to 
prepare.  It  took  courage  to  do  that.  It 
is  difficult  for  any  of  us  to  admit  that 
we  are  no  longer  able  or  fitted  for  the 
task  of  a  great  office,  that  disease  or  de- 
cay have  impaired  our  usefulness, 
that  we  are  becoming  less  a  help  and 
more  a  hindrance.  It  took  humility  to 
do  that.  It  must  have  been  a  shock  to  a 
man  so  proud,  so  able,  so  prominent,  to 
see  himself  like  the  giant  oak  felled  by 
the  lightning,  and  realize  that  the  day 
of  his  power,  of  his  labor,  of  his  activity 
was  ending.  It  took  piety  to  do  that. 
Realizing  the  weight  of  the  re- 
sponsibility he  had  borne  so  long,  and 
not  minimizing  the  shortcomings  of  his 
life,  he  knew  that  the  time  that  re- 
mained was  all  too  short  to  prepare  for 
the  judgment  that  took  place  on  last 
Friday  afternoon. 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  139 

We  have  come  from  far  and  from 
near,  and  we  are  gathered,  John  Lan- 
caster Spalding,  about  the  lifeless 
clay  that  once  housed  your  great  spirit. 
We  have  come  to  take  a  last  look  at 
you  whom  we  had  known,  revered  and 
loved  in  life.  Now  we  lay  you  to  rest 
like  the  great  bishops  of  old,  clothed  in 
the  vestments  of  your  high  office,  with 
your  mitre  on  your  brow  and  your 
crozier  by  your  side.  We  mourn  you, 
even  as  the  children  of  Israel  mourned 
the  Maccabee,  for  you  too  were  a  leader 
in  Israel.  Your  people  mourn  you  to- 
day, for  they  loved  you,  their  first 
Bishop,  who  labored  so  zealously  for 
them,  who  was  ever  so  good  to  them, 
whom  they  treasured,  whom  they 
revered,  of  whom  they  were  so 
proud.  Your  clergy  are  here  to-day  with 
heavy  hearts  and  tear-dimmed  eyes, 
for  they  loved  you,  they  revered  you, 
they  were  grateful  to  you  for  many 
things. 

The  older  priests  present,  who  had 
labored  with  you,  remember  today  how 
kind  you  were  to  them:  the  younger 
ones,  the  newly-commissioned  captains 
in  Christ's  army,  hold  your  image  en- 
shrined, for  you  were  the  idol  of  their 


140  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

boyhood  days.  Your  successor  in  the 
high  office  asked  only  that  he  might 
offer  up  this  last  sacrifice  of  propitia- 
tion for  your  eternal  repose,  in  grate- 
ful appreciation  of  the  many  courtesies, 
the  unfailing  kindness,  the  loyal  co- 
operation, which,  like  an  elder  brother, 
you  have  given  him  in  the  seven  years 
of  his  episcopal  office.  This  city,  and  its 
people,  irrespective  of  creed  or  position, 
mourns  today  the  loss  of  its  first  citizen, 
the  courtly,  cultured,  southern  gentle- 
man, who  helped  to  promote  its  welfare, 
add  to  its  renown,  contribute  to  the 
happiness  of  its  inhabitants.  If  it  seems 
strange  that  this  last  tribute  should  be 
paid  to  you  by  one  who  but  a  few 
months  ago  came  to  you,  a  stranger 
from  the  distant  east,  is  it  not  really 
fitting  that  this  should  be  so?  For  it 
but  shows  that  you  belonged  not  to  this 
city,  this  diocese,  this  state  alone :  all  of 
us  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  land  claimed  you  as  our  own: 
millions  of  us  in  the  faith  were  proud 
of  you,  and  when  the  preacher  of  to- 
day was  only  a  tiny  boy,  it  was  impress- 
ed on  his  memory  that  one  of  the 
greatest  prelates  of  America's  Church 
was  Bishop  Spalding  of  Peoria. 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  141 

You  need  no  monument  at  our  hands, 
for  your  monument,  the  work  of  your 
fingers  and  the  children  of  your  brain, 
more  lasting  than  granite  or  bronze, 
rest  on  the  bookshelves  of  every  priest 
of  the  land,  and  find  a  welcome  place 
in  every  library  of  the  country.  You 
need  no  eulogy  from  our  lips.  Deep 
in  the  hearts  of  all  of  your  priests 
is  written  the  record  of  many  kindly 
deeds,  of  countless  fatherly  words, 
of  unnumbered  generous  acts  of  as- 
sistance in  time  of  stress,  in  hours 
of  worry,  in  moments  of  trial.  But 
you  do  perhaps  need  our  prayers, 
and  that  is  the  offering  we  place 
upon  your  coffin  today, — the  promise 
of  a  -  constant  remembrance  in  our 
prayers,  at  Mass,  in  the  reception 
of  the  Sacraments,  so  that,  if  after  the 
battle  is  over,  some  of  the  dust  of  the 
conflict  still  dims  the  brightness  of 
your  soul  in  the  keen  vision  of  the  Al- 
mighty Judge,  our  prayers  may  wipe  it 
away  and  make  you  acceptable  to  the 
Master  whom  you  served,  and  assure 
you  that  welcome  in  our  Father's 
mansion  for  which  you  have  sighed  and 
waited  and  prayed. 


Address  on  the  Occasion  When  the  Associated 

Catholic  Charities  of  Chicago  Was 

Formed,  April  10th,  1917 

It  is  said  of  the  Church  that  like 
truth  she  is  ever  ancient,  ever  new.  It 
is  one  of  the  signs  of  her  eternal  youth, 
that  while  charity  is  as  old  as  Chris- 
tianity, yet  it  has  come  in  many  forms 
according  to  the  needs  of  the  times.  So, 
too,  alms-giving  and  the  gathering  and 
distributing  of  alms  have  been  known 
in  the  Church  throughout  the  19  cen- 
turies of  her  growth.  The  Venerable 
Bede  tells  us  that  the  Lord  Himself  and 
His  followers  had  special  pockets  or 
depositories  for  receiving  the  offerings 
of  the  faithful  to  supply  His  own  bodily 
wants  and  to  relieve  the  needs  of  others, 
and  this  is  borne  out  by  Scripture. 
Many  a  town  in  France  and  England 
owes  its  existence  to  an  ancient  mon- 
astery around  which  the  pensioners 
gathered  and  about  which  they  lived. 
Then  came  the  Mendicant  Orders  of  the 
Church,  as  their  name  implies,  begging 
from  door  to  door,  and  with  what  they 
received  promoting  God's  glory  and 
feeding  and  clothing  the  poor  and  nurs- 
ing the  sick  and  the  helpless.  Later 


ADDRESSES  AND   SERMONS  143 

came  the  many  women's  orders  of,  the 
Church,  each  with  its  distinct  purpose, 
but  most  of  them  instituted  for  the  pur- 
pose of  practicing  corporal  and  spir- 
itual works  of  mercy.  Finally  came 
for  the  layman,  for  the  father  of  the 
family,  the  Conference  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul.  So  much  for  the  evolution  and 
the  growth  down  to  our  own  time.  Now 
let  us  take  this  place : — 

We  are  living  in  a  city  that  has  grown 
up  overnight.  I  know  of  no  other  that 
has  progressed  so  rapidly  as  Chicago. 
You  have  a  big  city  and  you  have  all 
the  problems  of  a  big  city.  You  have 
the  evils  that  come  from  overcrowding, 
from  ignorance,  from  indolence,  from 
irreligion,  from  sin.  On  the  other  hand, 
— and  now  I  speak  only  from  a  Catholic 
standpoint, — you  have  wonderful  works 
of  charity,  of  mercy  and  of  religion.  I 
know  of  no  better  orphan  homes  any- 
where than  you  have  here.  You  have 
fine  hospitals.  You  have  reformatories 
for  girls.  You  have  shelters  for  the 
homeless.  You  have  homes  for  the  aged. 
Each  of  these  is  supported  by  one  of 
two  agencies, — either  by  the  diocese  it- 
self or  by  large  and  small,  particularly 
small,  donations  from  the  people  of 


144  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

Chicago.  It  is  not  generally  known,  but 
the  Archbishop  has  given  about  $250,- 
000  to  $300,000  a  year  in  works  of 
charity  and  Christian  education.  Be- 
sides this  the  Catholics  of  Chicago 
must  have  contributed  considerably 
more  to  make  possible  what  has  been 
done  here  to  relieve  poverty,  distress 
and  want.  To  do  this,  the  diocese  has 
been  not  only  contributing  practically 
every  dollar  of  revenue,  but  has  been 
eating  into  its  principal  until  now  we 
have  come  to  the  danger  point  and  are 
warned  to  break  in  no  further.  With 
the  faithful,  another  difficulty  has 
arisen.  Many  Catholics,  especially  well- 
known  Catholics,  and  business  people, 
have  been  bothered  with  a  multiplicity 
of  appeals,  because  all  of  these  various 
charitable  institutions  and  organiza- 
tions have  been  conducting  their  own 
finances  and  no  attempt  Has  been  made 
to  restrict  the  field  or  limit  a  district 
for  them,  and  so  many  of  them  have 
been  going  to  the  same  people  for  aid. 
There  has  not  been  much  complaint 
about  it,  both  because  the  Sisters,  or 
their  friends,  were  always  so  deadly  in 
earnest  and  because  the  people  to  whom 
they  applied  were  so  good-natured  that 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  145 

they  contributed  at  least  something  to 
all  of  them.  But  I  have  felt  right  along 
that  some  remedy  must  be  found,  for 
conditions  were  not  growing  better  and 
might  soon  become  hardly  tolerable.  So 
when  I  appointed  a  new  director  of  the 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  I  called  his  atten- 
tion to  this  point.  I  know  full  well  that 
our  people  do  not  by  any  means  object 
to  giving  in  charity,  in  fact  feel  it  their 
duty  to  do  so,  and  that  many  of  them 
would  give  more,  if  by  doing  so  they 
did  not  have  to  give  so  often  and  at  the 
same  time  were  sure  that  it  would  be 
properly  applied.  It  was  because  of  this 
that  I  told  him  to  see  our  Catholic  men 
and  talk  to  them — which  proved  to  be 
one  of  the  best  pieces  of  advice  I  have 
ever  given.  The  suggestion  was 
promptly  taken  up  by  a  number  of  rep- 
resentative business  men,  who  outlined 
the  system  of  soliciting  annual  sub- 
scriptions for  the  combined  charities  of 
the  diocese  that  you  have  just  heard. 
This  system  was  proposed  to  me  and 
has  received  my  cordial  approbation.  If 
carried  out  as  planned,  and  with  the 
co-operation  of  priests  and  people,  it 
will  be  one  of  the  most  progressive  and 
beneficial  Catholic  movements  ever  un- 


146  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

dertaken  in  Chicago.  It  will  help  our 
charities  tremendously;  it  will  be  a  God- 
send both  to  the  givers  and  to  the  re- 
cipients ;  and  it  will  be  gratifying  to  all, 
if  they  will  only  sit  down  and  consider 
its  many  advantages  for  themselves  as 
well  as  for  others.  Besides,  this  move- 
ment comes  at  the  proper  moment. 

On  the  afternoon  of  Good  Friday  our 
country  formally  entered  into  war.  For 
a  long  time  we  had  nourished  the  hope 
and  persisted  in  the  prayer  that  we,  as 
a  people,  might  be  saved  from  taking 
part  in  this  world-tragedy  that  has  cost 
so  many  lives  and  so  much  human 
blood;  but  God's  Providence  has 
ordained  differently.  And  now  that 
it  has  begun,  none  of  us  can  tell 
how  long  it  will  last,  what  the  cost 
in  human  life  may  be,  and  what  sac- 
rifices all  of  us  must  make.  One  thing 
is  certain,  and  I  speak  for  myself, 
for  800  priests  and  1,000,000  Catholics 
— the  moment  the  President  of  the 
United  States  affixed  his  signature  to 
the  resolutions  of  Congress,  all  dif- 
ference of  opinion  ceased.  We  stand 
seriously,  solidly  and  loyally  behind  our 
president  and  his  congress.  They  may 
have  information  that  is  hidden  from 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  147 

us,  they  may  know  that  danger 
threatens  this  nation  from  more  than 
the  one  quarter  from  whence  we  do  not 
expect  it.  But  in  any  case  they  are  the 
elected  representatives  of  the  people. 
This  is  a  government  of  the  people  and 
by  the  people.  We  have  chosen  them 
and  into  their  hands  we  have  given  the 
reins  of  government  and  by  their  de- 
cisions we  must  abide,  otherwise  we 
would  prove  unworthy  of  the  blessing^ 
of  a  free  democracy. 

So  in  this  hour  of  crisis  I  pledge  the 
loyalty  of  our  Catholic  people  to  our 
flag,  from  the  little  drummer  boy  in  the 
orphan  asylum  to  the  aged  veteran  in 
the  old  folks'  home,  the  loyalty  of  every 
priest,  sister,  adult  and  school-child,  to 
our  country  and  to  our  country's  flag. 
I  do  not  say  this  in  a  burst  of  en- 
thusiasm, carried  away  by  the  excite- 
ment of  the  moment,  or  just  as  an 
empty  figure  of  speech.  By  our  acts  we 
will  be  judged,  not  by  our  words.  Soon 
many  of  our  young  men  will  leave 
home  to  enter  the  ranks  of  the  army  or 
navy.  The  old  Church  that  looked  after 
them  at  home  will  follow  them  to  the 
battlefield.  God  knows  that  we  need 
priests  sorely,  but  we  will  economize  our 


148  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

forces  here  that  they  may  go  with  the 
soldier  boys.  Two  of  my  younger  priests 
are  practically  released  and  ready  to 
go  within  an  hour's  notice  with  their 
regiments.  Others  will  follow  as  they 
are  needed.  In  anticipation  of  this  step 
I  have  arranged  with  the  authorities  of 
the  navy,  and  within  48  hours  one  of  the 
most  promising  of  the  younger  priests 
will  take  up  the  work  already  begun  of 
caring  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the 
young  recruits  at  the  Naval  Training 
Station  at  Lake  Bluff,  so  that  the  young 
sailor  lads  in  training  there  (of  whom 
more  than  one-third,  or  nearly  a  thous- 
and, are  Catholics)  may  go  forth 
spiritually  strengthened  as  well  as 
physically  fit  to  man  our  battleships. 
Some  of  them  may  never  have  the 
chance  to  receive  the  Sacraments  again, 
for  we  are  now  at  war  and  our  men 
must  go  forth  to  meet  death  unafraid. 
Again  will  our  Sisters  of  Charity  and 
of  the  other  communities,  the  angels  of 
many  a  battlefield,  volunteer  their 
services  and  be  ready  to  nurse  the 
wounded  and  comfort  the  dying.  Every 
Catholic  hospital  in  this  city  will  place 
its  buildings,  its  equipment,  its  services, 
at  the  government's  disposal.  All  of  this, 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  149 

remember,  we  do  gladly  and  at  our  own 
expense,  nor  do  we  expect  any  recom- 
pense or  even  gratitude.  We  do  it  for 
God  and  for  country.  We  might,  in  this 
connection,  ask  whether  the  individuals 
or  organizations,  few  though  they  may 
be,  who  have  harassed  us  in  the  courts 
or  maligned  us  in  the  scurrilous  sheets 
in  these  later  years  will  now  give  some 
evidence  of  the  love  of  country  so 
loudly  professed  at  a  time  when  the 
country  did  not  need  them. 

But  we  must  do  even  more  than  we 
have  done.  We  must  not  neglect  those 
at  home.  When  the  soldier  goes  to  war, 
he  must  feel  that  those  he  leaves  at 
home  may  not  be  left  destitute.  From 
my  own  experience  and  the  stories  of 
others,  I  know  that  it  was  a  long  time 
before  help  from  the  government  came 
to  the  families  of  those  who  fell  in  the 
first  or  second  year  of  the  Civil  War, 
the  delay  being  due  to  a  lack  of  pre- 
paredness. That  is  why  I  want  a  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul  Conference  active  in 
each  parish.  In  this  way  we  can  bring 
quick  relief  to  those  whose  breadwinner 
has  gone  to  war.  And  to  the  young 
father  serving  his  country  whose  heart 


150  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

is  heavy  with  anxiety  for  the  wife  and 
children  he  has  left  at  home,  I  want  to 
promise  that,  should  their  mother  be 
taken  from  them,  we  will  take  his 
babies.  We  will  give  them  a  home.  We 
will  fight  for  their  souls'  salvation  just 
as  hard  as  he  fights  for  our  country's 
flag.  We  will  keep  them  for  him  until 
he  returns ;  and  if  he  does  not  come  back 
again,  if,  when  the  noise  of  the  battle 
is  over,  his  lifeless  form  lies  on  the  dis- 
tant, blood-soaked  plain  and  his  sight- 
less eyes  gaze  to  the  starry  vault  of 
heaven,  we  will  teach  his  little  ones  to 
revere  his  memory  and  follow  in  his 
footsteps  and  to  love  God  and  be  true 
to  their  country  even  as  was  the  father 
who  has  gone. 

Gentlemen,  that  is  the  Rind  of  patriot- 
ism that  we  preach  and  that  we 
practice.  It  does  not  consist  of  much 
waving  of  the  flag,  and  loud  professions 
of  patriotism,  but  in  the  present  and  in 
the  future,  even  as  in  the  past,  when 
our  country  needs  us,  we  will  be  there 
to  do  our  share  and  even  more.  Now 
for  all  of  this  I  need  my  people's  help, 
for  without  them  it  would  be  difficult 
indeed;  but  that  support  will  be  given 
undividedly  and  unsparingly,  I  know. 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  151 

Even  without  it,  however,  the  work 
must  go  on,  even  were  we  to  pledge 
every  resource  of  the  Church.  And 
were  we  to  face  failure  and  bankruptcy 
in  the  end,  it  would  be  in  a  glorious 
cause,  for  it  would  be  for  God  and 
country. 

The  great  cry  and  need  of  our  country 
to-day  is  preparedness.  We  too,  as  well 
as  the  country,  need  preparedness,  and 
that  is  precisely  what  this  movement, 
this  great  union  of  charitable  endeavor 
for  efficiency  and  greater  results,  will 
bring  about.  You  are  to-day  preparing 
for  the  greater  needs  of  to-morrow. 
Put  this  movement  solidly  on  its  feet, 
have  it  spread  all  over  the  city,  have  its 
branches  and  workers  in  every  parish 
and  district,  then  you  will  have  an  or- 
ganization that  will  be  prepared  for  any 
demand  that  may  be  made  on  it.  Then 
will  Chicago  lead  any  city  in  the 
country,  yes,  in  the  world,  in  the  sup- 
port, management  and  efficiency  of  its 
Catholic  charitable  institutions  and  or- 
ganizations. You  will  have  benefited 
both  the  donors  and  the  recipients.  You 
will  have  given  to  every  charitably  in- 
clined person  a  chance  of  effecting  real 
good.  You  will  have  given  to  every 


152  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

charitable  organization  an  avenue  for 
obtaining  assistance  it  needs  without 
sacrificing  part  of  it  in  the  means  or 
agents  employed  in  getting  it.  You  will 
have  given  every  Catholic  a  fixed  rule 
by  which  he  can  give  to  charity  more 
cheaply  and  with  the  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  what  he  gives  goes  in  its 
entirety  to  the  purposes  for  which  it  is 
intended.  You  will  have  given  to  every 
worthy  diocesan  charitable  purpose  the 
opportunity  of  getting  more  help  and 
more  satisfactory  help.  You  will  have 
eliminated  waste,  you  will  have  pro- 
moted efficiency,  you  will  have  removed 
annoyance,  you  will  have  increased  the 
gifts  in  size  and  number.  You  will  have 
eliminated  the  need  for  our  Sisters 
begging  and  have  let  them  return  to 
the  more  necessary  work  of  caring  for 
the  sick  and  looking  after  the  deserted, 
the  dependent,  the  delinquent.  You  will 
have  rid  the  business  section  of  the  city 
of  scores  of  fake  Sisters  who  are  plying 
a  profitable  trade.  You  will  produce 
more  pride  on  the  part  of  our  Catholics 
and  respect  on  the  part  of  non-Catholics 
for  our  religious  and  our  charitaWe  in- 
stitutions. 
Finally,  gentlemen,  you  and  all  who 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  153 

co-operate  with  you,  can  show  your- 
selves patriotic  at  this  time.  We  can- 
not all  go  to  war,  we  may  not  all  be  fit 
or  able  to  fight  for  our  country,  but 
we  can  make  it  easier  for  those 
who  do.  We  can  help  look  after 
those  whom  they  must  leave  behind. 
Those  who  go  will  be  nearly  all 
young  men,  many  of  whom  support 
parents  or  wives  and  young  families. 
These  dependents  may  suffer  want. 
Now,  there  is  where  we  can  step  in  and 
help,  either  by  money  or  personal  serv- 
ice. The  latter  will  be  given  by 
the  various  Conferences  of  the  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul,  the  former  should 
come  from  all,  poor  and  well-to-do,  par- 
ticularly from  the  latter.  It  simply 
means  some  personal  sacrifice,  and  if 
all  help,  nobody  will  feel  it  much  and 
we  can  effect  a  great  deal  of  good. 

And  now,  gentlemen,  I  have  rarely 
welcomed  any  movement  as  warmly  as 
I  would  welcome  this,  for  if  successful 
it  would  be  the  greatest  stimulus  in  the 
cause  of  charity  and  therefore  for  the 
glory  of  the  Faith  to  which  you  be- 
long. The  name  may  be  different,  but 
you  are  nevertheless  disciples  of  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul.  Even  from  the  stand- 


154  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

point  of  worldly  business  you  will  find 
the  help  that  you  give  to  be  a  paying  in- 
vestment, for  charity  brings  its  reward 
even  here,  and  the  Lord  does  repay,  if 
not  to  you  here,  then  to  your  children 
and  children's  children  here  and  to  you 
a  hundredfold  hereafter. 


Christmas  Salutation  to  the  People  of  the  Arch- 
diocese of  Chicago,  1917 

The  year  1917  is  drawing  to  its  close 
like  one  of  those  rare  sunsets  when, 
as  a  blood-red  ball,  the  sun  goes  down 
in  the  west,  bathed  in  glory,  but  with 
the  threat  that  to-morrow  may  bring 
the  storm.  The  year  that  is  ending  hns 
been  an  important  year,  an  eventful 
one.  It  has  brought  its  lights  and 
shadows,  its  joys  and  sorrows,  its 
solace  and  its  disappointment.  For  a 
great  part  of  the  world  it  has  brought 
death,  disaster,  desolation.  For  our 
country  it  has  brought  entry  into  the 
world-war,  with  the  lofty  patriotism 
and  the  tearful  but  proud  parting  from 
our  soldier  sons  that  its  early  stages 
bring.  To  us  at  home  it  has  brought  as 
yet  but  little  discomfort,  just  a  volun- 
tary abstention  now  and  then,  hardly  a 
deprivation  sufficient  to  warn  us  of 
what  the  future  may  have  in  store. 
What  the  morrow  may  bring  us  is  still 
hidden  in  the  lap  of  God. 

On  the  other  hand  we  have  found 
that  the  dying  year  was  not  without  its 
compensations.  Who  can  deny  that  it 


156  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

has  brought  a  marvelous  outburst  of 
generosity,  of  neighborly  love  as  well  as 
love  of  country?  The  nation  has  given 
generously  of  its  sons,  the  rich  of  their 
few  just  as  readily  as  the  poor  of  their 
many.  So,  likewise,  each  in  proportion 
to  their  means,  have  been  lavish  in 
giving  to  every  worthy  cause,  for  the 
relief  of  pain  and  suffering,  for  the 
better  care  of  our  young  men  in  the 
army  and  the  navy,  for  the  lessening  of 
misery  and  destitution  at  home.  What 
seemed  impossible  a  few  years  ago  has 
become  an  every  day  occurrence,  such 
as  the  people's  gift  to  the  Red  Cross 
and  other  charities.  The  year  has 
brought  forth  a  spirit  of  willingness  to 
make  sacrifice  for  our  country  and  its 
cause  that  shows  a  deeply-rooted 
patriotism  on  the  part  of  a  united 
people  formed  out  of  varied  elements, 
a  loyalty  not  only  on  the  part  of  the 
native,  but  just  as  much  on  the  part 
of  the  foreign-born,  that  gives  splendid 
promise  for  the  future  of  this  republic. 
The  year  has  brought  with  it  a  gradual 
but  marked  decline  of  bigotry,  a  growth 
of  better  understanding  among  all  of 
our  people,  a  truer  estimate  of  the  de- 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  157 

votion  of  our  Catholic  people  to  this 
land  of  their  birth  or  adoption. 

So,  if  it  has  had  its  trials,  the  year 
now  closing  had  its  compensations,  too. 
Were  we  always  cradled  in  luxury, 
lulled  to  slumber  in  peace,  never 
menaced  by  suffering,  time  would  find 
us  deteriorating  in  fibre,  selfish  in  en- 
deavor, arrogant  in  action.  To  make  us 
a  strong,  virile  nation,  we  need  rain  as 
well  as  sunshine;  sorrow  as  well  as  joy; 
trials  as  well  as  comfort.  A  land  of  per- 
petual sunshine  does  not  breed  a  robust 
people,  neither  does  an  untroubled 
country  mother  a  race  of  heroes.  War 
is  not  always  an  unmixed  evil,  not 
simply  a  scourge  of  God.  It  is  some- 
times a  beneficent  visitation.  It  is  often 
a  refining  fire  that  parts  the  gold  in 
us  from  the  dross;  that  recalls  to  us  our 
ideals;  that  trims  and  hardens  us  by 
self-denial  and  sacrifice ;  that  makes  us 
remember  God  and  His  judgments 
which  lie  so  close  to  the  battlefield ;  that 
makes  us  hear,  above  the  noise  of  the 
battle  and  the  cries  of  the  wounded,  the 
beating  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  the 
Savior — which  is  nearer  to  us  in  sorrow 
than  in  joy,  in  pain  than  in  pleasure, 
in  adversity  than  in  prosperity. 


158  ADDRESSES  AND   SERMONS 

Again  there  comes  to  us  the  day  of 
Our  Savior's  birth.  It  will  not  be  a 
merry  Christmas,  but  it  should  be 
a  thoughtful  Christmas:  it  may  not 
be  a  jolly  feast  day,  but  it  should  be  a 
prayerful  one.  In  many  a  home  there 
will  be  a  vacant  chair  at  the  holiday 
meal.  A  million  boys  have  gone  from 
home,  from  father  and  mother,  from 
wife  or  family.  Nearly  one-half  of 
them  have  crossed  the  great  ocean, 
ready  to  plunge  into  the  seething 
cauldron  of  the  battlefield,  just  a  few 
of  them  sleep  in  a  little  row  of  graves 
on  a  green  hillside  of  France.  When 
kneeling  around  the  crib  of  the  Infant 
Savior,  as  loving  children  of  Holy 
Church,  as  dutiful  sons  and  daughters 
of  this  dear  land  of  ours,  let  us  place 
in  His  tiny  outstretched  hands  the 
offering  of  ourselves,  the  promise  that 
we  will  be  resigned  to  His  Holy  Will 
and  resolved  to  help  our  country:  that 
we  will  not  growl  or  grumble  if  His 
hand  should  rest  heavy  on  us,  but  that 
whatever  He  sends  us  or  permits  to 
visit  us,  we  will  welcome. 

And  let  us  pray  to  Him  with  the 
earnestness  of  the  shepherds  and  the 
deep  faith  of  the  Wise  Men  that  He 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  159 

may  bless  us  and  the  things  that  are 
dear  to  us,  not  only  our  own  little 
family,  but  this,  our  city;  this,  our 
diocese;  this,  our  country;  and  that  His 
hand  may  rest  in  benediction  on  the 
boys  in  khaki  and  the  boys  in  blue,  for 
they  are  our  own  children:  that  He  may 
bring  them  back  again  to  their  homes 
and  to  their  mothers'  arms, — or,  if  they 
fall  in  battle,  that  He  may  receive  them 
into  His  heavenly  mansions — and  that 
soon  the  roar  of  the  guns  and  the  war's 
alarms  may  cease  to  drown  out  the 
sound  of  the  angels*  voices  and  the 
world  may  again  hear  the  Christmas 
message  "Glory  be  to  God  in  the  highest 
and  on  earth  peace  to  men  of  good  will." 


Sermon  at  the  Diamond  Jubilee  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Notre  Dame,  Indiana, 
June  llth,  1917 

"Going,  therefore,  teach  ye  all  na- 
tions: baptising  them  in  the  name  of 
the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Teaching  them  to  observe 
all  things  whatsoever  I  have  command- 
ed you."  Math.  XXVIII:  19  and  20. 

Your  Eminence,  Most  Rev.  and  Right 
Rev.  Prelates,  Very  Rev.  and  Rev. 
Fathers,  dearly  beloved : 

Just  eight  days  ago  we  listened  to 
one  of  the  shortest  gospels  of  the  year ; 
and  yet,  few  of  them,  if  any,  equal  it  in 
importance;  for,  in  it  Christ  gives  His 
farewell  message  to  His  apostles,  points 
out  to  them  the  principal  work  He  has 
given  them  to  do,  briefly  defines  the 
mission  of  His  Church  and  of  those  to 
whom  He  had  just  given  His  divine 
power.  He  made  His  apostles  teachers 
— that  was  to  be  their  most  important 
office.  They  were  to  continue  His  work. 
For  that  purpose  He  had  selected  them 
one  by  one.  For  that  same  purpose  He 
had  kept  them  by  His  side  for  three 
long  years,  that  the  truths  He  was 
teaching,  the  doctrines  He  was  preach- 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  161 

ing,  might  sink  deep  into  their  mem- 
ories, becoming  imbedded  by  the  very 
weight  of  their  repetition  from  His 
lips.  After  all,  that  was  the  purpose 
for  which  He  had  come  from  heaven, — 
man's  redemption  first,  but  necessarily 
man's  instruction  too.  Finally,  it  was 
for  precisely  that  same  purpose  that  He 
was  sending  them  the  Holy  Ghost,  not 
to  comfort,  not  even  to  encourage  them, 
but  rather  to  ground  them  deeper  and 
firmer  in  the  truths  He  himself  had 
taught  them,  and  to  make  these  truths 
vivid,  unforgettable,  real  as  life  itself. 
"The  Holy  Ghost  whom  the  Father  will 
send  in  my  name,  He  will  teach  you  all 
things,  and  bring  all  things  to  your 
mind  -whatsoever  I  shall  have  said  to 
you"  (John  XIV:  26).  That  this  was 
their  own  understanding,  the  one 
thought  uppermost  in  their  minds,  the 
events  that  followed  showed:  for,  at 
once,  after  the  Paraclete  had  come,  they 
begin  to  teach  that  multitude  gathered 
from  the  four  winds.  "We  have  heard 
them,"  say  the  crowds  in  wonder,  "we 
have  heard  them  speak  in  our  own 
tongues  the  wonderful  works  of  God" 
(Acts  II:  11).  And  coming  along  the 
early  ages  of  Christianity,  from  its 


162  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

very  infancy,  when  its  growth  could  not 
be  hampered  by  pain,  probation  or  per- 
secution, to  the  time  when  the  coming 
of  peace  and  prosperity  found  the 
Church  strongly  intrenched  in  nearly 
every  known  land,  through  her  bishops 
and  priests,  the  successors  of  the  Apos- 
tles, she  has  proved  faithful  to  her  prin- 
cipal mission,  to  "teach  all  nations." 
Hidden  in  the  houses  of  their  follow- 
ers, out  in  the  open  fields,  down  in 
the  bowels  of  the  earth,  early  and 
late,  in  season  and  out  of  season, 
they  taught  the  word  of  God, 
Later  on,  from  the  monasteries  and 
the  convents,  where  the  Scriptures 
and  the  Fathers  were  cherished  and 
transcribed  and  Sacred  Tradition 
jealously  guarded,  there  came  forth  the 
apostles  who  went  into  England,  Ger- 
many, Ireland  and  other  lands, — they, 
too,  simple  guardians,  messengers  and 
teachers  of  the  word  of  God  to  the  na- 
tions, to  whom  they  became  accredited 
as  the  ambassadors  of  Christ.  And 
then,  coming  to  the  middle  ages  of 
history,  perhaps  there  is  no  more  con- 
spicuous evidence  of  the  constant  in- 
dwelling of  the  Holy  Ghost  than  the 
birth  of  the  many  Religious  Orders  of 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  163 

the  Church,  brought  into  being  each 
one  to  fit  some  particular  time  and  some 
special  need :  thus,  the  Friars  Preachers 
at  a  time  when  the  heresy  of  Albigen- 
sian  theories  threatened  the  very  ex- 
istence of  sound  doctrine:  the  Friars 
Minor  of  St.  Francis,  whose  mission 
(almost  as  badly  needed  to-day)  was  to 
preach  by  word  and  example  that 
Christ  really  meant  what  He  said  in  the 
words  "Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit, 
for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  heaven" 
(Math.  V:  3):  the  Society  of  Jesus,  a 
picked  body  of  trained  soldiers,  called 
into  action  to  beat  back  the  onrushing 
heresy  of  Luther,  when  it  threatened 
to  invade  Spain  and  Italy. 

With  the  invention  and  perfection  of 
the  printing-press  had  come  the  means 
of  disseminating  the  knowledge,  of 
which  for  centuries  the  monasteries 
had  been  almost  the  sole  custodians. 
Then  began  a  new  demand  which  day 
by  day  grew  stronger.  Man  had  found 
another  avenue  for  his  ambition,  and 
slowly  but  surely  the  pen  and  the  press 
became  mightier  than  the  sword.  In  the 
early  days,  it  is  true,  there  were  seats  of 
learning,  about  which  the  scholars,  who 
had  come  from  far,  would  gather  to 


164  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

listen  to  great  Masters  like  Alfred  and 
Thomas  of  Aquin.  But  now  it  was  no 
longer  the  few,  but  the  multitude  that 
would  drink  of  the  fount  of  knowledge, 
and  education  became  the  demand  of 
the  age.  Nor  was  this  just  a  mere  pass- 
ing fad,  but,  as  generation  followed 
generation,  this  cry  became  more  in- 
sistent, more  universal,  so  that  truly 
ours  may  be  said  to  be  the  age  of 
education.  And  nowhere  is  this  truer 
than  right  here  in  our  own  country.  As 
a  result,  everyone,  even  the  most  re- 
cent immigrant  to  our  shores,  wants  an 
education.  To  obtain  it  for  his  children, 
he  will  endure  any  sacrifice.  It  is  the 
golden  key  that  opens  to  them  the  door 
that  is  closed  to  him,  the  door  of  oppor- 
tunity, of  success,  of  wealth.  But  from 
sad  experience  the  Church  knows  that 
this  craving  is  often  fraught  with 
danger.  We  know  that  education  must 
not  be  one-sided,  not  of  the  intellect 
alone,  but  also  of  the  heart,  of  the  soul. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  at  so  great  a 
sacrifice,  with  so  much  labor,  at  so 
great  expense,  we  are  erecting,  main- 
taining and  perfecting  our  schools, 
where  God  and  His  laws  have  a  place 
in  the  curriculum,  where  religion  is 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  165 

taught,  where  from  childhood  the 
scholars  learn  to  know,  to  love  and  to 
serve  God  and  so  to  save  their  immortal 
souls.  And  yet  all  this  labor  would  be 
useless,  these  schools  would  be  like  so 
many  empty  fortresses  without  soldiers 
to  defend  them,  had  we  not  the 
Religious  Orders  to  man  them — the 
good  Sisters  and  Brothers  who  are 
teaching  in  them.  These  teaching 
Orders  of  the  Church  are  filling  the 
most  pressing  need  of  the  present  day. 
They  are  fulfilling  the  first  and  the 
most  important  part  of  the  commission 
given  by  Christ  to  His  Church,  and, 
whether  men  or  women,  in  sacred 
Orders  or  consecrated  by  their  vows, 
they  are  the  sharers  of  the  priestly 
work,  and  by  the  graces  of  their  special 
vocation  are  better  able  to  perform  it 
than  the  priests  themselves.  They  take 
the  little  ones  in  their  tenderest  years 
when  the  impressions  are  made  that 
are  lasting,  and  by  precept,  by  their 
religious  dress,  by  their  example,  they 
model  their  hearts  and  souls  according 
to  the  image  of  Christ,  while  at  the 
same  time  they  do  not  neglect  to  instill 
secular  knowledge.  As  a  result,  when 
the  children  leave  the  school  and  go  out 


166  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

into  the  world,  it  is  with  an  enduring 
impression,  with  an  indelible  memory, 
with  a  constantly  reviving  remem- 
brance of  the  teachings,  of  the  counsels, 
of  the  warnings  of  the  good  Sisters  or 
the  faithful  Brothers  who  were  the 
teachers  and  friends  of  their  childhood 
and  youth.  And  then  later, — how  many 
a  sorrowing  parent,  how  many  a  pastor 
of  souls  has  not  learnt  by  sad  ex- 
perience (perhaps  too  late)  that  it  is  in 
the  blossomtime  of  youth,  when  nature 
has  her  springtime  too  in  the  human 
creature  before  her,  when  the  soul  of 
the  youth  and  maiden  are  still  sensitive 
to  every  touch,  that  guidance  and  com- 
panionship mean  so  much  in  the  life  of 
a  growing  boy  and  girl,  and  that,  if 
religious  teaching  means  so  much  as  a 
leaven  in  education  for  the  child,  it 
means  even  more  in  the  youth,  so  soon 
to  begin  a  man's  work.  So  we  have  our 
colleges,  our  academies,  our  high- 
schools  for  them,  and  again  by  God's 
wonderful  Providence,  (to  me  the  con- 
vincing evidence  of  the  abiding  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  His  Church,  the  man- 
ifestation of  the  great  love  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  of  the  Master  for  us,  His 
children)  the  teaching  Orders  which 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  167 

are  doing  such  splendid  work  for  God's 
honor -and  glory  and  the  salvation  of 
souls  in  them.  These  Orders  have  but 
little  recognition  from  any  of  us,  and 
comparatively  no  earthly  recompense; 
in  fact,  sola  spes  vitae  aeternae  pro 
praemio — only  the  hope  of  the  eternal  life 
as  their  reward." 

Nearly  a  century  ago,  an  humble 
parish  priest  in  a  little  village  of  France 
laid  the  foundations  of  what  is  today 
the  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Cross. 
His  intention  was  thereby  to  benefit 
his  own  beloved  country  and  to  repair 
the  ravages  the  Revolution  had  effected 
in  France.  But,  "man  proposes  and 
God  disposes."  The  Community,  of 
which  he  was  the  founder,  was  to  find  a 
field  of  action  in  a  newer  land.  He  had 
intended  that  his  little  Community 
should  help  to  rebuild  the  church  at 
home,  where  it  was  crumbling  because 
its  ministers  had  been  martyred  or  dis- 
persed: but  Providence  decided  that 
they  were  to  build  a  new  edifice  among 
a  people  not  their  own.  And  that  same 
Providence  guided  the  footsteps  of 
that  first  little  band  of  seven  Brothers 
and  their  leader,  until  they  came  to 
this  place.  They  found  here  a  spot  al- 


168  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

ready  consecrated  to  God's  service,  hal- 
lowed by  the  lives  and  the  labors  of 
saintly  men.  As  early  as  the  second 
half  of  the  17th  century,  there  had  come 
from  that  land  that  has  cradled  all  of 
our  early  missionaries  the  zealous  Pere 
Allouez,  and  his  successor,  the  pente- 
costal  Chardron,  whose  labors  were  so 
fruitful  that  when  later  the  brutal  de- 
spoilers  destroyed  this  mission,  burnt 
the  chapel,  imprisoned  the  missionary 
and  his  helpers,  scattered  its  people, 
yet  they  failed  to  blot  out  the  faith  in 
the  hearts  of  the  simple  Indians.  A 
century  later,  the  fire  of  faith  still  burn- 
ed brightly  among  the  descendants  of 
those  Indian  tribes,  and  in  answer  to 
their  fervent  prayers,  there  came  to 
them  the  "primogenitus"  of  the  Ameri- 
can priesthood,  the  first  one  to  whom 
the  Holy  Ghost  had  come  in  priestly 
ordination  in  the  newly-formed  Prov- 
ince of  the  United  States,  Father  Ste- 
phen Badin,  who  came  from  the  mis- 
sions in  Kentucky  and  reunited  the 
scattered  flock  of  St.  Mary  of  the  Lake. 
To  this  spot,  even  then  hallowed  by 
the  lives  and  labors  of  these  and  other 
saintly  men  seventy-five  years  ago, 
came  the  founders  and  builders  of 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  169 

Notre  Dame,  Father  Sorin  and  the 
seven  Brothers.  I  must  not  infringe 
on  the  prerogative  of  another,  who  to- 
morrow will  describe  to  you  in  burning 
words  the  work  accomplished  by  these 
pioneers,  but  I  feel  that  the  joy  of  this 
day  would  be  incomplete  and  the  glory 
of  this  jubilee  dimmed,  did  I  fail  to 
pay  a  brief  tribute  to  their  memory,  to 
lay  a  wreath  of  flowers  on  their  tomb. 
It  is  true,  Spiritus  ubi  vult  spirat — 
The  Spirit  breathes  where  He  will,  and 
God  can  render  successful  any  under- 
taking which  He  has  inspired;  but 
generally  God  does  make  use  of  a  fit- 
ting human  instrument  to  do  His  work. 
And  if  we  have  reason  to  rejoice  today 
that  'Notre  Dame  has  accomplished 
much  in  God's  cause,  we  cannot  over- 
look the  fact  that  Father  Sorin  was 
just  such  an  instrument  in  God's  hands. 
When  we  pass  in  review  the  events  of 
his  life's  history,  when  we  read  through 
his  letters  (especially  those  of  the  early 
days  of  this  foundation),  and  particu- 
larly when  we  look  at  what  has  been 
done  here  in  his  time,  we  are  forced  to 
concede — all  of  us — that  he  possessed 
those  principal  character-traits  that 
help  to  make  up  the  religious  leader. 


170  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

First  of  all  stands  his  wonderful  con- 
fidence in  God.  His  was  the  spirit  of 
the  crusader,  crying  "Deus  vult,"  "God 
wills  it."  The  result  was  that  he 
could  not  be  halted  in  his  work.  He 
recognized  the  fact  that  he  was  God's 
instrument,  and  so  there  was  no 
thought  in  his  mind  that  his  work  could 
possibly  fail.  Why,  that  first  winter 
in  this  place  was  enough  to  discour- 
age any  mortal  man — but,  not  Father 
Sorin!  Later  on  came  other  heavy 
blows — the  plague  that  snatched  from 
him  so  many  priests  and  Brothers,  all 
so  badly  needed,  the  conflagration  that 
razed  every  building  to  the  ground.  It 
needed  precisely  these  calamities  to 
bring  out  splendidly  that  other  quality 
of  leadership,  that  infectious  enthu- 
siasm, which  animated  him  and  com- 
municated itself  to  his  brethren  so  as 
to  make  them  immune  to  hardship  and 
misfortune.  The  real  leader  is  born  in 
adversity.  It  does  not  take  much  to 
hold  a  following  together  when  all  goes 
well,  but  the  one  who  can  inspire  his 
comrades  and  hold  them  to  himself,  and 
then  with  them  pull  victory  out  of  de- 
feat— ah !  the  number  of  such  is  small 
indeed!  And  when  they  are  spiritual 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  171 

leaders,  we  usually  find  them  numbered 
among  the  Saints.  Finally,  Father 
Sorin  possessed  in  a  remarkable  de- 
gree a  delightfully  human  characteris- 
tic, which  is  perhaps  best  described  by 
St.  Paul  in  his  letter  to  the  Corinthians 
(1  c.  IX:20)  when  he  says,  "And  I  be- 
came to  the  Jews,  a  Jew,  that  I  might 
gain  the  Jews." 

It  has  been  said  of  him  again  and 
again  that  he  became  an  American  of 
the  Americans.  In  planning  the  work 
of  this  University,  he  did  not  cling  to 
the  old  established  lines;  rather,  he 
absorbed  some  of  the  newness,  some  of 
the  freedom,  some  of  the  clarity  of  the 
life  of  the  people  of  this  part  of  the 
country;  and,  as  a  result,  Notre  Dame 
progressed  along  new  lines:  so  that 
today  I  know  of  no  other  institution 
which,  while  it  is  thoroughly  Roman  in 
its  doctrine,  is  so  completely  American 
in  its  spirit.  Moreover,  the  love  of  his 
adopted  country,  which  he  nursed  in 
his  own  soul  and  instilled  into  his  fol- 
lowers, has  become  one  of  the  most 
cherished  traditions  of  this  monument 
he  builded,  has  shown  forth  on  every 
page  of  its  history. 

Can  we  wonder,  then,  that  when  the 


172  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

land  was  torn  by  fraternal  strife,  and 
when  those  who  were  fighting  and 
dying  for  the  Union  needed  spiritual 
help  and  guidance,  the  priests  of  Notre 
Dame  were  among  the  foremost  of  the 
chaplains,  while  her  novices  and  her 
students  were  in  the  front  ranks  of 
the  soldiers  who  fought  so  bravely  for 
the  flag?  I  can  see  now,  even  as  though 
it  were  yesterday,  a  band  of  grizzled 
veterans  at  their  reunion  in  my  native 
city  years  ago,  and  how,  by  common 
impulse,  they  reverently  raised  their 
caps  when  the  name  of  the  gallant 
chaplain,  Father  Corby,  was  men- 
tioned. Can  we  wonder,  then,  that 
today,  when  the  alarms  of  war  have 
again  resounded,  Notre  Dame's  stu- 
dent-corps is  decimated  by  the  quick 
and  ready  response  to  the  country's 
very  first  call  for  volunteers?  In  the 
face  of  these  constant  and  well-known 
traditions  established  by  this  exiled 
French  priest  and  his  simple  compan- 
ions into  this,  our  principal  seat  of 
learning  in  the  west,  I  have  often  won- 
dered how  even  the  most  ignorant 
could  possibly  have  the  indecency  to 
question  our  loyalty  to  the  flag  in  time 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  173 

of  peace,  for  no  one  ever  had  the  hardi- 
hood of  doing  so  in  time  of  war. 

But  again,  lest  I  encroach  on  an- 
other's ground,  let  us  come  down  to  the 
living  present. 

Three-quarters  of  a  century  have 
passed  since  the  first  members  of  the 
Congregation  of  the  Holy  Cross  came 
to  this  spot,  sacred  to  Our  Lady  of  the 
Lake.  That  little  band  of  eight  has 
grown  into  a  community  of  nearly 
four  hundred.  The  tiny  mustard-seed 
planted  here  by  Father  Sorin  has  grown 
into  a  giant  tree,  whose  branches  have 
spread  all  over  the  land  and  to  all  parts 
of  the  compass.  The  schools  and  col- 
leges that  have  been  founded  from  this 
parent  seat  of  learning  are  found  in  a 
dozen  states  of  the  Union.  And  amid 
the  many  trials  the  Community  has  had 
to  face,  amid  the  changes  that  have 
come  to  it  in  time,  in  men  and  in  place, 
it  has  ever  remained  true  to  the  mis- 
sion and  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
founded, — even  that  same  ideal  that 
animated  the  early  missionaries  in  this 
place  two  hundred  years  ago — to  carry 
God's  holy  truth  as  far  into  the  land 
and  to  as  many  of  its  inhabitants  as 
possible,  This  the  priests  and  Brothers 


174 


of  the  Holy  Cross  have  done  by  the 
three  great  avenues  of  teaching, — in 
the  church,  in  the  school-room,  in  the 
columns  of  the  press.  From  the  pulpits 
of  many  churches  have  the  Fathers  of 
the  Holy  Cross  preached  the  word  of 
God  to  the  rich  and  to  the  poor.  Into 
crowded  cities  as  well  as  lonely  villages 
have  they  gone,  sometimes  one  alone, 
sometimes  in  pairs  or  in  threes,  and  by 
force  of  argument,  by  the  fire  of  elo- 
quence, by  the  reminder  of  man's 
death  and  judgment,  have  they  brought 
strayed  sinners  back  to  the  arms  of  the 
Master,  and  other  sheep  into  the  one 
fold  and  to  the  Good  Shepherd. 

But  the  great  work  and  the  glory  of 
the  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Cross  is 
its  work  in  the  schools.  In  ten  dioceses 
its  priests  and  Brothers  are  engaged  in 
teaching  youth  in  schools,  high-schools 
and  colleges.  Called  into  being  to  teach 
the  catechism,  its  members  have  re- 
mained true  to  their  first  vocation,  but 
they  have  found  time  to  add  thereto 
secular  knowledge,  so  that  they  may 
take  their  place  among  the  finished 
teachers  of  the  land. 

Their  great,  their  lasting  monument 
here  is  Notre  Dame.  Three-qu'arters  of 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  175 

a  century  ago,  it  was  a  log  chapel,  a 
little  hut;  today  it  is  a  university  town. 
Then  there  were  one  priest,  seven 
Brothers,  a  few  scattered  settlers,  and 
the  survivors  of  the  Indians.  Today 
Notre  Dame  is  a  complete  university 
with  a  score  of  full  collegiate  courses,  a 
faculty  of  national  reputation,  a  stu- 
dent-body of  twelve  hundred, — the 
largest  in  any  Catholic  educational  in- 
stitution in  the  United  States — with  a 
spirit  all  its  own,  gentlemanly,  studious 
and,  above  all,  disciplined.  In  its  build- 
ings it  compares  favorably  with  any 
university  in  the  land,  and  yet  it  is 
probably  the  only  one  that  has  been 
erected  without  the  help  of  large  dona- 
tions, and  is  maintained  with  practically 
no  endowment  It  stands  here  as  a 
monument  to  God's  glory  and  to  the 
honor  of  our  Blessed  Mother,  whose 
golden  image  dominates  it  all,  blessing 
all  who  dwell  beneath  its  shadow.  It 
stands  here  as  an  everlasting  proof  of 
the  devotion  of  the  children  of  the 
Church,  who  have  given  up  all  to  teach 
the  word  of  God  to  the  children  of  men. 
To  this  university  boys  have  come, 
neither  rich  nor  powerful,  but  from  its 
gates  they  have  gone  forth  men,  who 


176  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

have  been  a  force  and  an  influence 
among  their  fellow-men,  who  have  been 
the  pride  of  their  church  and  a  credit 
to  their  country.  Though  we  find  here 
spacious  grounds,  stately  buildings, 
splendid  equipment,  property  valued  in 
the  many  hundreds  of  thousands,  yet 
this  citadel  of  learning  and  religion 
does  not  owe  its  being  to  the  wealthy 
with  their  millions.  Instead,  the  priests 
and  brothers  of  this  community  have 
coined  their  labors,  their  sweat  and 
their  blood  to  pay  for  its  stone  and 
metal,  its  brick  and  mortar.  Their  toil 
and  their  fatigue  have  been  unending. 
Each  one  has  patiently  borne  "the  labor 
of  the  day  and  the  heats,"  and  when  for 
him  the  night  time  came,  he  has  passed 
his  task  cheerfully,  uncomplainingly,  on 
to  his  successor.  The  priests  and  broth- 
ers have  been  careful,  conscientious 
teachers  and  have,  in  a  literal  sense, 
proven  a  greater  success  as  messengers 
of  God's  word  than  the  good  Father 
Dujarie  could  ever  have  hoped  for. 
They  have  taught  the  boys  and 
youths  of  successive  generations,  and 
few  were  those  whom  they  sent  forth 
who  were  not  a  credit  to  the  University 
that  trained  them.  Not  by  preaching 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  177 

and  teaching  alone,  but  by  the  printed 
word  as  well  have  the  sons  of  Father 
Sorin  fulfilled  their  mission  of  spread- 
ing the  word  of  God  in  this  land.  Week 
after  week,  for  more  than  fifty  years, 
have  they  sent  into  every  part  of  the 
English-speaking  world  a  message  of 
praise  to  Our  Lady's  honor  fittingly 
labelled  "Ave  Maria."  In  these  days 
when  the  aim  of  most  journals  seems  to 
be  rather  to  startle  and  scold  than  to 
instruct  and  entertain,  when  our  nerves 
are  shocked  and  our  passions  roused, 
rather  than  our  attention  held  and  our 
humor  challenged,  the  "Ave  Maria" 
comes  into  our  homes  and  into  our 
hands  like  an  honored  guest,  like  a 
charming,  gentle,  well-bred  lady,  with 
its  kindly  humor,  with  its  wholesome 
bits  of  wisdom,  with  its  interesting 
stories  for  young  and  old.  It  is  one  of 
the  few  journals  that  require  no  apol- 
ogy and  no  introduction,  for  once 
welcomed  into  a  home,  it  finds  its  way 
into  the  heart,  and  is  surely  missed  if 
it  fails  to  return. 

And  so  today,  at  the  close  of  three- 
quarters  of  a  century,  the  sons  of 
Father  Sorin  have  gathered  at  the  feet 
of  the  Mother  whom  they  have  loved 


178  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

so  well,  and  in  the  presence  of  the 
Master  for  whom  they  have  labored,  to 
chant  their  "Te  Deum."  We  have  gath- 
ered here  from  far  and  from  near,  from 
the  beloved  Prince  of  our  Holy  Church 
who  presides  down  to  the  poor  and 
humble  friend  who  lives  near  the  col- 
lege gates,  to  thank  Almighty  God 
because  He  guided  the  footsteps  of 
Father  Sorin  to  this  spot  seventy-five 
years  ago.  We  thank  Him  for  the  many 
and  great  things  that  have  here  been 
done  to  the  honor  of  His  Holy  Name, 
for  the  progress  of  Holy  Church  and 
for  the  salvation  of  countless  souls. 
And  we  pray  Him  today  to  grant  that 
the  sons  of  Father  Sorin  may  increase 
in  number  and  grow  in  perfection,  so 
that  this  University  of  Notre  Dame  in 
the  future,  even  more  than  in  the  past, 
may  be  one  of  the  glories  of  our  Church 
and  of  our  country,  a  home  of  learning, 
and  a  place  of  holiness.  To  the  teachers 
of  Notre  Dame,  to  the  pupils,  to  the 
stranger  within  its  gates,  may  the 
golden  image  of  Our  Lady,  like  "a  pillar 
of  cloud  by  day  and  a  pillar  of  fire  by 
night"  be  a  guide  and  an  inspiration  on 
their  earthly  journey:  and  when  the 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 


end  comes  to  them  and  they  must  cross 
into  the  Promised  Land,  may  their  eyes 
be  greeted  by  the  glorious  vision  of  Her, 
to  whom  in  life  they  so  often  breathed 
the  salutation,  "Ave  Maria." 


Address  to  the  Knights  of  Columbus— The  Care 
of  Delinquent  Boys,  Febru- 
ary 22nd,  1916 

Today  an  entire  nation,  like  one  great 
family,  pauses  in  its  daily  avocations, 
stills  the  clatter  of  its  machines,  stops 
the  wheels  of  its  commerce,  to  celebrate 
the  birthday  of  one  who  was  the  father 
of  our  country  and  was  also  its  savior. 
As  long  as  this  land  of  ours  remains 
the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the 
brave,  just  so  long  the  name  of  him  who 
was  first  in  war  and  then  became  first 
in  peace,  will  remain  first  in  the  hearts 
of  his  countrymen.  When  Britain  for- 
got the  role  of  mother-country  to  as- 
sume that  of  cruel  stepmother,  and 
ground  under  foot  the  rights  of  her 
colonists  across  the  seas,  until  they, 
like  northern  serfs  or  southern  peons, 
groaned  under  the  weight  of  her  exac- 
tions, then  did  he  whose  natal  day  we 
commemorate  today  place  himself  at 
the  head  of  his  countrymen,  who  strug- 
gled and  fought  until  they  secured  tho 
freedom  you  and  I  do  now  enjoy.  And, 
like  faithful  children  of  Holy  Mother 
Church,  we  rejoice  today  that  even  in 
those  early  days  there  were  so  many  of 


ADDRESSES  AND   SERMONS  181 

our  faith,  among  them  Sullivan,  Lafay- 
ette, Kosciusko  and  Pulaski,  to  fight 
with  Washington  side  by  side.  We  re- 
joice that  Gen.  Washington,  the  noble 
and  generous  father  of  our  country,  did 
not  hesitate  to  give  praise  by  name  to 
his  faithful  Catholic  soldiers,  that  he 
stood  forth  loyally  for  their  freedom  to 
practice  their  faith.  And  it  is  a  matter 
of  secret  satisfaction  to  us  that  in  that 
early  struggle  of  our  country,  Arnold, 
the  greatest  bigot  of  them  all,  proved 
the  greatest  traitor  to  his  country  in 
the  end.  And  so  on  this  day,  none  more 
than  we  honor  our  country's  father — 
none  more  than  we  will  strive  to  pre- 
serve his  memory  in  our  children — 
none  more  than  we  in  our  schools  will 
fervently  sing  "Land  where  our  fathers 
died,  of  thee  we  sing."  And  the  long 
roll  of  those  who  have  fallen  for  their 
country's  flag  on  the  battlefields  of  our 
more  recent  wars  will  show  that  at  no 
time  were  Catholic  men  deficient  in 
patriotism,  or  our  Catholic  women 
wanting  in  the  spirit  of  sacrifice  when 
our  country  called  their  fathers,  hus- 
bands and  sons  to  its  defense. 

In  a  word,  we  are  proud  of  our  rec- 
ord.   We  have  given  brave  soldiers  to 


182  ADDRESSES  AND   SERMONS 

our  fatherland  in  war  and  splendid 
citizens  in  time  of  peace,  and  that, 
whether  we  were  Americans  by  birth 
or  just  Americans  in  the  making.  For 
we  must  not  forget  that  peace  has  its 
victories  just  as  much  as  has  war,  and 
though  Washington  was  "first  in  war" 
we  hail  him  likewise  as  "first  in  peace." 
Our  forefathers  have  imitated  him 
when  engaged  in  war  for  the  defense 
of  our  country's  liberty  or  union.  Will 
we,  you  and  I,  enjoying  the  fruits  pur- 
chased by  their  endeavors,  by  their 
blood,  by  their  lives,  will  we  imitate 
him  in  the  peace  we  now  enjoy?  I  am 
sure  everyone  of  you  will,  without  hesi- 
tation, rise  and  cry  out  "we  will."  But, 
can  you?  Let  us  see  if  there  be  some 
special  work  in  which  you  might  enroll 
as  soldiers  of  peace,  some  movement 
for  the  welfare  of  the  country  which  we 
hold  so  dear,  for  the  city  of  which  we 
are  proud,  for  the  faith  which  we 
value  more  than  life.  Today  we  hear 
much  of  preparedness,  a  splendid  thing. 
There  is  also  such  a  thing  as  prevention, 
a  better  thing.  The  question  heard  in 
every  big  city  today  is  what  will  we  do 
with  the  bad  boy?  In  Chicago  that 
question  has  become  acute.  The  press 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  183 

has  heralded  it  the  world  over,  so  that 
the  world  is  watching  how  Chicago  will 
solve  the  menacing  difficulty.  Else- 
where they  have  grappled  with  the 
danger  by  creating  institutions  of  re- 
form. Let  me  say  frankly  that  wher- 
ever the  state  has  attempted  to  solve 
the  problem  it  has  failed;  private  con- 
cerns have  had  no  better  success;  the 
reform  institutions  are  too  often  breed- 
ing places  of  criminals.  What  then 
do  we  propose?  Preparedness  is  the 
answer,  prevention  is  the  solution. 

And  that  is  the  problem  I  have 
thought  to  hand  over  to  so  large  and 
so  representative  a  body  of  Catholic 
laymen  as  the  Knights  of  Columbus. 
There  is  no  work  that  I  know  of  that 
will  so  merit  their  own  personal  satis- 
faction, that  is  so  much  a  man's  work 
and  that  will  obtain  for  them  the 
applause  and  the  good  will  of  their 
fellow-citizens  more  than  this.  What  I 
propose  is  this:  Let  us  start  a  proba- 
tionary system  of  our  own,  a  big 
brother  movement  that  is  really  worth 
while.  We  will  put  up  a  home  outside 
the  city,  where  the  air  is  good,  where 
the  surroundings  are  healthy,  where 
the  supervision  is  parental  and  kind, 


184  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

rather  than  corrective.  This  institu- 
tion, or  rather  its  governing  board,  to 
be  appointed  a  probationary  officer  of 
the  court,  and  to  receive  first  offenders 
from  the  Juvenile  Court,  who  are 
placed  on  probation,  who  have  not 
been  marked  with  conviction  for  any 
crime,  and  who  will  come  to  us  for 
the  very  same  reason  that  the  state 
isolates  those  who  have  been  exposed 
to  contagion.  I  have  always  maintained 
that  we  alone  can  handle  this  situation, 
because  we  have  those  who  dedicate 
their  lives  to  the  strayed  and  the  stray- 
ing. The  state  has  tried  it  and  failed ; 
philanthropic  and  perhaps  well-mean- 
ing organizations  may  attempt  it,  but 
accomplish  little  or  nothing;  even  our 
Sisters  would  not  be  able.  But  the 
Lord  has  given  us  the  religious  orders 
of  men  to  do  the  work.  If  our  Catholic 
laymen  who  are  members  of  your  order 
will  co-operate,  I  believe  we  will  succeed 
where  others  have  failed.  If  you  will 
furnish  the  building,  I  will  provide  the 
Brothers  to  carry  on  the  work.  The 
secret  of  the  success  of  the  work  will 
be  that  the  boy  is  taken  out  of  his  en- 
vironment— for  it  is  the  environment 
that  produces  the  good  or  bad  man. 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  185 

We  are  giving  him  a  new  home — f  or  it 
is  only  too  often  because  a  boy  lacks  a 
home  that  he  takes  to  the  streets  for 
his  recreation,  for  his  companions  and 
finally  for  his  occupation.  This  is  a  big 
problem,  which  must  be  handled  in  a 
big  way  by  big  men,  and  then  it  will  be 
productive  of  big  results. 

This  will  be  a  difficult  task,  it  means 
much  care,  the  expenditure  of  a  large 
sum,  but  if  you  succeed,  and  I  believe 
you  will,  then  the  citizens  of  this  city 
cannot  be  grateful  enough  to  you.  No 
greater  work  has  been  attempted  by 
any  Catholic  body  of  men,  and  if  you 
carry  it  out,  then  no  branch  of  your 
Order,  large  or  small,  will  have  accom- 
plished what  the  Knights  of  Columbus 
of  Chicago  have  accomplished.  It  is 
much  easier  to  erect  a  splendid  club- 
house, but,  gentlemen,  I  would  rather 
help  save  the  soul  of  a  kiddie  of  the 
streets  than  erect  the  finest  monument 
in  Chicago.  It  is  perhaps  simple  to 
perpetuate  one's  memory  by  giving  a 
library  or  endowing  a  university,  but 
to  take  a  boy  from  the  street-corner 
and  from  temptation,  give  him  a  chance 
which  he  may  not  have  had,  set  him 
right  and  show  him  how  when  he  has 


186  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

made  just  a  youthful  mistake, — that 
means  writing  one's  name  in  letters  of 
gold  in  the  register  where  neither  time 
nor  eternity  will  ever  blot  it  out.  Per- 
haps the  Church  (that  means  the 
bishop),  might  have  solved  the  problem 
of  his  own  accord — but  that  is  not  my 
way — I  want  the  help  of  my  people — 
I  would  not  deprive  you  of  the  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  great  good.  I  would  not 
take  from  you  the  chance  to  earn  the 
reward  promised  by  Him  who  repays 
even  a  glass  of  water  given  in  His  name, 
who  will  reward  in  eternity  what  is 
done  for  those  whom  He  calls  "The  least 
of  these  my  little  ones."  I  would  not 
steal  from  you  the  opportunity  of  per- 
forming a  great  civic  duty  and  earning 
the  commendation  and  heartfelt  grati- 
tude of  your  fellow-citizens.  To  you, 
gentlemen,  who  have  children  of  your 
own,  I  am  pleading  for  the  boy  who  is 
begging  for  a  chance,  who  is  too  young 
to  know  that  he  has  done  wrong,  who  is 
not  a  hardened  criminal,  just  a  boyish 
first  offender.  You  are  the  judge  and 
the  jury.  I  place  his  case  in  your  hands. 
Today  we  honor  our  country's  father, 
our  country's  founder,  our  country's 
savior.  When  I  was  a  little  boy  in 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  187 

school  we  wrote  in  our  copy-books  this 
couplet,  "Lives  of  great  men  all  remind 
us,  we  can  make  our  lives  sublime,  and 
departing  leave  behind  us  footprints  in 
the  sands  of  time." 


Address  at  the  Dedication  of  the  Bishop  Quarter 

School  for  Little  Boys,  Oak  Park, 

Illinois,  October  12th,  1917 

Some  time  ago  an  old  Religious,  who 
has  been  in  many  parts  of  the  world 
and  has  a  deserved  reputation  for  both 
knowledge  and  experience,  told  me  that 
the  greatest  work  of  charity  in  this  dio- 
cese during  the  past  two  years  was  the 
establishment  of  the  Bishop  Quarter 
School  for  little  boys.  "For,"  said  he, 
"you  will  find  plenty  of  little  convent 
schools  for  girls  of  all  ages,  but  few,  if 
any,  seem  to  think  of  and  make  provi- 
sions for  the  little  boys."  I  tell  this  now 
for  the  consolation  of  the  good  Domin- 
ican Sisters  and  their  Mother  Prioress, 
who  so  cheerfully  took  up  this  work 
when  it  was  offered  to  them  by  the 
Archbishop. 

Personally,  I  have  rarely  found  any- 
body so  helpless  and  so  lonesome  as  a 
young  husband  whose  wife  has  died  and 
left  him  the  whole  care  of  their  little 
children.  He  actually  seems  lost.  He 
hardly  knows  where  to  turn  in  his  grief 
for  the  wife  who  has  gone  and  his  love 
for  the  little  ones  that  remain.  He  has 
not  the  time,  for  he  must  work,  nor 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  189 

the  knowledge,  for  that  belongs  to  a 
woman,  to  care  for  them.  He  does  not 
want  to  give  them  to  others,  for  they 
are  bone  of  his  bone  and  flesh  of  his 
flesh.  He  wants  to  see  them  often,  for 
they  are  his  children  and  they  remind 
him,  too,  of  the  wife  whom  he  loved. 
He  wants  to  see  them  cared  for,  kept 
clean,  properly  fed  and  educated  in 
mind  and  moulded  in  soul.  And  for 
this  he  will  gladly  make  sacrifices,  will 
gladly  deny  himself  many  things  so 
that  his  children  may  not  be  neglected. 
Often  the  poorer  he  is,  the  more  he 
desires  it,  the  more  sacrifices  he  will 
make. 

An  incident  occurs  to  me  now,  which 
is  very  vivid  although  it  happened 
many  years  ago.  I  had  established  a 
little  school  under  the  care  of  the  Sis- 
ters. It  was  a  free  school,  but  in  a 
fashionable  neighborhood,  and  I  was 
compelled  to  restrict  it  to  children  liv- 
ing within  the  parish  limits  or  whose 
parents  were  pew  holders.  One  night 
a  plainly  dressed  woman  called  on  me. 
She  reminded  me  that  as  a  young  priest 
I  had  married  her,  her  husband  being 
a  non-Catholic.  She  told  me  that  they 
now  had  three  boys  and  had  lately 


190  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

moved  into  the  neighborhood.  I  found 
on  inquiry  that  they  were  living  just 
outside  the  parish  limits.  Of  course,  I 
had  to  adhere  to  my  rule,  but  her  plea 
to  have  the  boys  entered  in  this  school 
was  so  earnest  that  I  picked  out  the 
two  lowest-priced  seats,  and  then  cut 
even  that  price  in  two.  But  when  I 
told  her  what  it  was,  she  shook  her 
head  and  said  "I'm  afraid  we  can't 
make  it.  My  husband  is  only  a  clerk; 
he  earns  nineteen  dollars  a  week;  we 
pay  twenty  dollars  a  month  rent,  and 
three  boys  need  a  lot  of  clothes  and 
food ;  I  don't  see  how  we  can  afford  it." 

"Well,"  I  said,  "go  home  and  think  it 
over  and  come  back  again  on  Wednes- 
day night  to  see  me." 

She  came  back  again  on  Wednesday 
saying,  "I  talked  it  over  with  my  hus- 
band. When  we  could  not  find  any 
other  way,  he  said  'I  want  the  boys  to 
go  to  a  Catholic  school,  and  to  pay  seat- 
money,  I  will  give  up  smoking — you  can 
keep  my  tobacco  money,  that  will  pay 
for  the  seats'."  "All  right,"  I  said. 
"Send  the  boys;  I'll  find  room  for  them 
in  the  school.  I  won't  be  outdone  in 
generosity  by  a  non-Catholic  man,  espe- 
cially when  it  is  a  question  of  religious 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  191 

education  for  the  children."  This  hap- 
pened nearly  ten  years  ago.  Since  then 
the  man  has  come  into  the  Church,  and 
I  have  one  of  the  boys  studying  for  the 
priesthood.  I  cite  this  example  to  show 
that  perhaps  the  age  is  not  so  selfish 
as  we  sometimes  think,  that  there  are 
people  ready  to  make  sacrifices  for 
their  children's  eternal  welfare,  and 
that  the  poorer  they  are,  the  more 
ready  they  often  are  to  deny  them- 
selves not  only  pleasures  but  even 
necessities  for  this  purpose. 

These  things  were  taken  into  consid- 
eration in  the  founding  of  this  school, 
where  a  father  can  leave  his  motherless 
little  boy  for  a  longer  or  shorter  period 
of  time,  where  the  little  fellow  will  re- 
ceive a  mother's  care  from  the  Sisters, 
where  the  father  can  come  as  often  as 
he  wills  to  visit  him,  and  where  a  work- 
ingman's  child  will  be  as  welcome  and 
will  receive  the  same  treatment  as  a 
rich  man's,  at  as  low  an  expenditure  to 
the  father  as  possible.  The  Sisters  do 
not  expect  that  this  school  will  be  a 
paying  investment,  at  least  in  a  worldly 
sense.  They  have  not  established  it  for 
that  purpose.  It  is  for  little  boys  whose 
fathers  must  labor  day  after  day  for  a 


192  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

modest  salary.  But  at  the  same  time, 
we  must  not  forget  that  there  is  a  very 
heavy  debt  on  this  building,  a  large 
sum  must  be  paid  every  six  months  in 
interest,  the  cost  of  living  is  very  high, 
and  the  Sisters,  in  making  the  rates  as 
low  as  possible,  are  running  a  risk 
unless  there  is  a  goodly  number  of 
children  and  all  pay  promptly. 

The  School  is  named  after  the  first 
Bishop  of  Chicago.  Next  year  it  will  be 
75  years  since  a  New  York  priest,  Rev. 
William  Quarter,  was  named  first 
Bishop  of  the  newly-formed  Diocese 
of  Chicago.  At  that  time  the  great 
grandfather  of  the  present  Archbish- 
op's father  was  worshipping  in  the 
basement  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  New 
York,  of  which/  Father  Quarter  was 
pastor,  so  this  School  will  act  as  a 
link  doubly  binding  the  past  and  the 
present,  as  a  memorial  erected  to  the 
memory  of  our  first  Bishop  by  the 
eighth  Bishop,  and  third  Archbishop, 
of  Chicago.  Moreover,  just  four  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  years  ago  today, 
Christopher  Columbus,  that  splendid 
representative  Catholic,  first  planted 
the  cross  of  Christ  on  the  soil  of  this 
fair  land.  Today,  on  the  anniversary 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  193 

of  that  event,  just  four  and  a  quarter 
centuries  later,  we  have  affixed  that 
same  cross  to  the  walls  of  this  building, 
first  the  home  of  purely  secular  learn- 
ing, but  now  the  abode  of  charity,  of 
religion,  of  education.  May  it  for  many 
years  be  a  place  of  consolation  for 
countless  bereaved  fathers  and  a  shel- 
ter and  a  home  for  countless  motherless 
boys! 


Address  at  the  Silver  Jubilee  of  the  Women's 

Catholic  Order  of  Foresters,  Auditorium, 

Chicago,  April  28th,  1916 

I  have  come  here  this  evening  to 
participate  in  the  celebration  of  your 
Silver  Jubilee.  I  have  also  come  here 
formally  to  accept  a  new  office — one  of 
the  many  that  have  come  to  me  during 
the  past  few  months.  It  is  not  only  an 
office,  but  an  honor  as  well.  It  is  a 
distinction  to  be  High  Court  Chaplain 
of  the  Catholic  Women  Foresters,  and 
as  such  I  assume  it. 

I  have  been  receiving  so  many  gifts 
and  so  many  responsibilities  that  I  am 
getting  afraid  that  the  transaction  is 
somewhat  one-sided,  so  I  am  going  to 
give  something  away,  something  that 
belongs  to  me,  something  that  goes 
with  the  office  and  dignity  of  Arch- 
bishop of  Chicago.  And  that  something 
I  am  going  to  give  to  you,  representa- 
tive Catholic  women  of  this  diocese; 
and  just  because  it  is  a  gift  that  comes 
from  your  High  Court  Chaplain,  you 
will  not  only  accept,  it,  but  you  will  be 
delighted  to  be  singled  out  for  this 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  195 

honor.  It  is  this :  in  a  word,  I  am  going 
to  turn  over  a  little  part  of  my  respon- 
sibility to  the  Catholic  Women  For- 
esters of  Chicago. 

The  history  of  recent  years  has 
shown  that  only  too  often  have  good 
Catholic  organizations  died  of  dry  rot, 
simply  because  there  was  nothing  for 
them  to  do  in  the  way  of  helping  others. 
It  is  a  commendable  thing  to  do,  to  pro- 
vide for  those  near  and  dear  to  us,  by 
assisting  Providence  in  saving  for  a 
rainy  day:  it  is  wise  to  form  strong 
organizations  of  men  or  women:  it  is 
splendid  to  have  a  large  organization 
like  yours  to  represent  a  diocese,  and 
finer  still  to  see  the  spirit  that  now 
animates  it — but  we  are  approaching 
the  ideal,  when  an  organization  like 
yours  has  as  its  object  not  only  the 
mutual  good  of  its  members,  but  also 
the  good  of  others, — when  it  works  to 
interest  them  and  so  help  them  and 
their  children;  when  it  attempts  to 
solve  a  problem  of  the  day;  when  it 
does  its  share  to  bring  about  an  im- 
provement in  individual  conditions  that 
surround  the  homes  in  the  city.  The 
day  has  gone  by  when  either  as  indi- 
viduals or  as  organizations  we  can 


196  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

simply  look  after  our  own  little  per- 
sonal interests  and  rest  content  with 
that.  We  must  help  others.  We  can- 
not say  "Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?" 
We  are  keepers — helpers,  protectors  of 
others,  of  the  weak,  of  the  young,  of 
the  dependent:  we  are  accountable  for 
them;  society  will  hold  us  accountable: 
God  will  hold  us  accountable.  To  care 
for  them  is  a  duty  we  owe  our  neigh- 
bor; but  it  is  more  than  a  duty,  it  is  a 
source  of  grace,  of  blessing.  The  man 
or  woman,  who  has  lived  alone,  for 
self,  who  has  not  helped  others, — I  say 
he  or  she  has  lost  one  of  the  greatest, 
one  of  the  sweetest  comforts  in  life.  It 
makes  no  difference  either  whether  the 
subject  benefited  turns  out  worthy  or 
unworthy.  In  the  latter  case  there  is  a 
disappointment,  it  is  true,  but  the 
gratification  that  comes  from  the  con- 
sciousness of  having  really  helped 
another  fellow-being  is  something  that 
cannot  be  described,  that  cannot  be 
bought  by  money,  that  is  like  a  remnant 
of  paradise.  I  have  had  my  share  of 
it  and  I  know,  and  that  is  why  I  want 
others,  why  I  want  my  people,  to 
participate. 
Now  what  is  it,  Ladies,  that  I  would 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  197 

have  you  do?  What  is  the  work  I 
would  entrust  to  your  organization? 

For  a  number  of  years  a  little  body 
of  young  women  have  been  courage- 
ously trying  to  do  a  certain  work,  but 
though  brave  and  willing  enough,  yet 
they  are  not  strong  enough  in  num- 
bers to  accomplish  it.  Knowing  that  it 
needed  a  big  body  of  women  to  take 
it  up  and  carry  it  along,  I  thought  of 
you,  and,  to  be  candid,  I  said:  "If  the 
Catholic  Women  Foresters  want  me  as 
their  High  Court  Chaplain  they  must 
be  ready  to  work." 

In  the  business  section  of  this  city 
there  are  seventy  to  eighty  thousand 
young  girls  at  work  daily,  in  offices,  in 
stores,  in  shops.  From  sixty  to  seventy 
per  cent,  of  them  are  Catholic  girls, 
and  more  than  half  of  them  are  eigh- 
teen and  under — the  dangerous  age. 
Cannot  something  be  done  to  make 
things  a  little  better,  a  little  smoother, 
especially  a  little  safer  for  them  ?  Now 
I  have  outlined  a  plan  to  your  officers, 
by  which,  without  too  great  an  expense, 
your  organization  can  be  an  agency  for 
good  among  our  little  working  girls; 
can  provide  for  them  rest  and  good 
food  and  pleasant  surroundings;  can 


198  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

watch  over  their  welfare  and  safeguard 
some  of  them  from  danger  If  you  help 
to  save  just  a  few  girls  from  dangers 
that  threaten  them  in  a  big  city,  the 
innocent,  delicate  little  working-girls 
of  today,  who  will  be  the  mothers  of 
tomorrow,  it  will  be  worth  while.  You 
know  it  is  not  bombast  to  say  that  all 
the  gold  in  the  treasury  in  Washington 
could  not  pay  for  those  few  souls.  As 
individuals  you  might  do  but  little,  but 
as  an  organization  you  would  do  much, 
for  you  are  more  than  30,000  in  this 
city  alone.  You  could  make  your  force 
felt,  you  could  make  your  name  known 
throughout  the  city,  and  the  burden  on 
the  shoulders  of  each  of  you  would  be 
so  light  as  to  be  practically  unno- 
ticeable. 

When  this  vital  matter  was  first 
broached,  the  answer  given  was,  "If  the 
Archbishop  tells  the  women  to  do  it,  it 
will  be  done."  So  that  is  my  purpose 
here  now — to  tell  you  to  do  it.  I  have 
given  the  men  the  care  of  the  boys; 
they  accepted  the  task  with  enthusiasm. 
I  am  giving  the  women  the  girls.  I 
know  they  will  be  just  as  ready,  just  as 
willing.  And  you  will  be  successful; 
if  you  take  it  up  in  the  right  spirit,  you 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  199 

are  bound  to  be;  and  if  you  do,  your 
organization  will  merit  the  respect  and 
the  good  will  of  all  the  people  of  Chi- 
cago, and  you  will  receive,  too,  the 
blessing  of  Almighty  God.  To  some  it 
will  mean  labor,  planning  and  arrang- 
ing details;  but  to  the  most  of  you  it 
means  only  the  addition  of  a  few  pen- 
nies to  your  monthly  dues,  but,  in  the 
course  of  time,  it  will  bring  about  a 
monument  to  the  Catholic  Women  For- 
esters of  Chicago.  You  will  have  some- 
thing that  is  entirely  your  own  to  fos- 
ter, you  will  have  a  work  to  mother,  you 
will  have  something  right  in  the  whirl- 
pool of  traffic,  in  the  center  of  business, 
in  the  heart  of  the  city,  that  you  can 
point  to  and  say  that  it  is  yours.  It  will 
be  a  work  of  prevention,  not  covering 
up  a  mistake,  healing  a  wound  or  cor- 
recting an  error.  It  will  mean  helping 
in  your  own  way  to  keep  the  inno- 
cent white,  the  simple  safe,  the  young 
healthy  and  sound.  Finally  it  will  be 
the  silver  milestone  that  will  mark  the 
completion  of  the  first  quarter  century 
of  your  existence,  and  an  insurance 
against  decay  during  a  similar  period 
of  the  years  full  of  golden  promise  that 
now  lie  before  you. 


Address  at  the  Charity  Concert  of  the  St.  Vin- 
cent de  Paul  Society,  Auditorium, 
Chicago,  October  20th,  1916 

I  believe  I  am  hardly  violating  a 
confidence  when  I  tell  you  the  following 
incident  that  happened  to  me  lately. 
A  young  man  called  and  asked  me 
whether  he  might  dedicate  to  me  a 
book  he  had  written  dealing  with  mod- 
ern social  questions  and  particularly 
with  philanthropic  work.  Before  per- 
mitting him  to  do  so,  I  was  careful  to 
find  out  something  about  its  contents. 
He  explained  to  me  that  the  theory  he 
advocated  was  that  gradually  the  State 
was  to  take  over  the  care  of  the 
dependent,  the  unfortunate,  the  incom- 
petent. Even  where  their  care  and 
supervision  was  left  in  the  hands  of 
other  agencies,  for  instance,  to  the 
Religious  Orders  of  the  Church — like 
the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor  for  the 
care  of  the  aged,  or  the  Sisters  of 
Charity  for  the  care  of  infants — even 
then  the  State  was  to  supply  all  the 
necessary  funds.  When  he  had  made 
this  clear  to  me,  I  said:  "Son,  I  don't 
know  how  long  I  am  going  to  live,  but 
I  hope  I  will  not  live  long  enough  to 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  201 

see  the  condition  you  describe  come 
into  existence.  For,  when  you  take 
from  a  man  the  chance  to  help  from  his 
own  scant  earnings  and  savings  his 
poorer,  weaker,  needier  neighbor,  then 
you  not  only  rob  him  of  the  one  great 
opportunity  of  piling  up  merit  for  him- 
self in  heaven,  but  you  deprive  him  of 
one  of  life's  purest  and  holiest  feelings 
of  peace  and  satisfaction.  In  a  word, 
you  would  do  away  with  every  chance 
to  practise  not  only  the  Godlike  virtue 
of  charity,  but  also  the  very  lovable 
natural  virtue  of  philanthropy." 

Nowadays,  these  two  words,  charity 
and  philanthropy,  are  mixed  up  rather 
frequently  and  indiscriminately,  and 
the  man  or  woman  of  rather  ordinary 
intelligence  becomes  somewhat  confus- 
ed as  to  the  meaning  of  either.  Where 
does  the  difference  lie?  I  am  not  going 
to  attempt  a  definition  of  these  terms; 
but  let  us  see  if  I  can  illustrate  it  by  an 
example.  A  modern  good  Samaritan, 
for  instance,  finds  a  man  sick  and  desti- 
tute. This  man  is  nothing  to  him  but  a 
fellow-being,  but  he  is  suffering  and  in 
want.  Our  Samaritan  helps  him, 
feeds  him,  nurses  him,  clothes  him,  and 
coaxes  him  back  to  health.  He  does  so 


202  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

because  he  is  naturally  kind,  unselfish, 
sympathetic,  and  feels  happier  when  he 
is  giving  something  away  to  one  deserv- 
ing of  help  than  when  he  is  receiving 
something  from  another.  He  doesn't 
do  it  for  glory,  for  pay,  maybe  not  for 
gratitude,  but  simply  because  he  feels 
happy  in  helping  a  fellowman.  That 
man  is  a  philanthropist,  and  a  mighty 
good  one,  too.  But,  along  comes  our 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul  man,  and  he  finds 
a  man  sick  and  destitute.  He  helps  him, 
feeds  him,  nurses  him.  The  reason  he 
does  it  is  not  because  he  likes  it,  not  be- 
cause it  gives  him  a  thrill  of  satisfac- 
tion, but  because  he  recognizes  in  this 
suffering  individual  Christ  himself;  be- 
cause he  is  as  really  and  truly  minister- 
ing to  the  Lord  himself  as  if  the  Savior 
had  suddenly  appeared  to  him ;  because 
of  his  belief  in  the  literal  meaning  of 
the  words:  "What  you  have  done  to 
these,  the  least  of  my  little  ones,  you 
have  done  to  me."  He  does  it,  not  to 
receive  the  thanks  of  another,  not  even 
the  approbation  of  his  own  kindly 
heart,  but  for  the  reward  promised  by 
Christ  himself.  Every  true  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul  man,  therefore,  is  a  philanthro- 
pist, yet  not  every  philanthropist  can 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  203 

be  classed  as  good  as  a  Vincentian.  The 
latter  includes  the  former,  and  again 
"the  greatest  of  these  is  charity." 

In  the  Church  today  we  have  socie- 
ties, sodalities,  confraternities.  We 
have  Catholic  societies  and  societies  of 
Catholics.  But  I  have  ever  maintained 
that  there  is  no  body  of  laymen  in  the 
Church  more  Christian,  more  Catholic, 
more  charitable,  than  the  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul  Conferences. 

Quietly,  constantly,  unostentatiously, 
they  are  doing  a  work  more  helpful  to 
individuals,  more  beneficial  to  the  com- 
munity, more  fruitful  to  themselves, 
than  any  other.  When  filled  with  the 
proper  spirit,  when  animated  by  the 
proper  motive,  they  are  fulfilling  the 
Savior's  mission,  of  Whom  it  was  said : 
"He  went  about  doing  good."  A  good 
Catholic  layman's  activity  should  not 
be  confined  to  his  own  family;  it  should 
be  felt  outside.  It  is  true  that  "charity 
begins  at  home,"  but  it  is  a  mighty  poor 
kind  of  charity  that,  having  begun  at 
home,  stays  at  home  and  ends  at  home. 
Let  him  become  a  member  of  his  parish 
conference  of  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
Society,  and  at  once  he  is  opening  a 
savings-bank  account  which  will  stand 


204  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

him  and  those  dear  to  him  in  good  stead 
when  the  spiritual  rainy  day  comes 
around.  But,  if  we  cannot  all  become 
Vincentians,  we  can  at  least  become 
auxiliary  members  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul  Conferences.  We  can  become 
helpers  of  charity,  by  giving  assist- 
ance  and  encouragement  on  occasions 
like  this,  and  to  those  actively  engaged 
in  the  work;  by  giving  the  helping  hand 
and  the  cheering  word  when  it  is  need- 
ed; by  furnishing  to  the  Samaritan  the 
oil  and  wine  to  pour  into  the  wounds 
of  the  stricken.  What,  then,  is  the  re- 
turn? From  the  Source  from  which 
all  blessings  flow,  we  have  a  promise: 
"Amen,  I  say  to  you;  even  a  cup  of  wa- 
ter given  in  My  name  will  receive  its 
reward." 


Sermon  on  the  First  Sunday  of  Lent,  Holy  Name 
Cathedral,  Chicago,  1917 

"Not  my  will,  but  Thine  be  done." — Luke 
XXII:  42. 

It  was  when  I  was  still  a  boy  that  I 
came  one  day  face  to  face  with  a  trag- 
edy. Without  knocking,  I  rushed  into 
a  neighbor's  home.  I  found  there  an 
old  woman,  her  grey  hair  dishevelled, 
her  face  haggard  with  grief,  her  eyes 
red  with  weeping.  Her  daughter  had 
brought  dishonor  and  disgrace  upon 
the  honest  mother's  head  and  sorrow 
into  the  little  home. 

Perhaps  because  I  was  only  a  child, 
the  old  woman  bared  her  soul  to  me, 
and  in  broken  words  told  me  of  how, 
when  this  daughter  was  a  child,  she 
fell  ill  and  came  close  to  death's  door. 
"And  I  prayed,"  she  said,  "I  prayed  so 
awful  hard  that  she  might  be  spared 
to  me!  I  asked  God  to  grant  me  this, 
if  He  never  gave  me  anything  else  in 
life.  I  snatched  her  from  God's  hands. 
I  would  not  give  her  up,  I  prayed,  'God, 
don't  let  her  die !  I  want  her  more  than 
I  have  ever  wanted  anything,  more 
than  I  ever  will  want  anything — let  me 


206  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

keep  her,  and  I'll  never  complain/ 
Why,  why  did  I  do  it?  What  a  fool  I 
was !  If  only  she  had  died  then,  if  only 
I  had  not  prayed  as  I  did.  Sonny,  learn 
from  me.  Don't  ever  ask  anything 
from  God,  if  it  is  against  His  will." 
Time,  like  the  surf  of  the  sea,  rolls  over 
and  blots  out  many  memories,  but  the 
sight  of  her  pain-scarred  face  I  have 
never  forgotten,  and  her  burning  words 
I  have  ever  remembered.  I  had  looked 
into  a  human  soul  and,  child  as  I  was,  I 
had  seen  there  sorrow,  remorse  and  de- 
spair. The  dear  old  woman  and  her 
erring  daughter  are  both  long  since 
gone,  and  I  trust  they  have  found,  the 
one,  the  Great  Consoler,  the  other,  a 
merciful  Judge. 

It  was  in  the  first  year  of  my  priest- 
hood,— the  oil  of  ordination  had  hardly 
dried  on  my  hands.  One  night,  taking 
another's  place,  I  was  called  to  attend 
a  sick  boy.  He  was  the  only  son  of  a 
widow — a  lovely  little  child,  the  apple 
of  his  mother's  eye,  with  a  manner  as 
gentle  as  a  girl's  and  a  soul  as  white 
as  a  baby's,  where  no  sin  had  ever 
found  entry.  He  was  an  altar-boy  in 
the  church  and  a  leader  in  his  class. 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  207 

He  loved  his  mother  almost  as  much  as 
his  mother  loved  him.  He  was  very  ill; 
his  frail  frame  was  ravaged  by  fever, 
and  the  doctor  gave  no  hope  of  his 
recovery.  I  told  the  young  mother  as 
gently  as  I  could.  Her  grief  was  tragic, 
but  it  was  mixed  with  a  fierce  deter- 
mination to  fight  for  her  young.  She 
forgot  everything  else  but  that  this  was 
her  child  which  some  unseen  power  was 
trying  to  take  away  from  her,  and  she 
stood  guard  over  him,  prepared  to  de- 
fend him  with  all  her  strength.  She 
would  not  give  him  up.  "No,  I  won't 
give  him  up!  God  can't  ask  it  of  me! 
Why,  he's  all  I  have.  I  can't,  I  can't 
give  him  up!"  she  cried  again  and 
again. 

I  left  them.  The  little  lad  had  re- 
ceived all  the  Sacraments  and  was 
already  unconscious.  It  was  one  of 
those  warm  summer  nights,  when  after 
midnight  a  fitful  little  breeze  springs 
up  and  an  exhausted  city  sinks  to  slum- 
ber, the  fretful  children  cease  their 
crying  and  the  fagged-out  parents 
sleep.  This  heart-broken  mother  was 
watching  over  her  boy  and  listening  to 
his  broken  breathing,  when,  an  hour  or 


208  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

so  after  midnight,  she  heard  the  sounds 
of  a  scuffle  in  front  of  the  house  break- 
ing the  stillness  of  the  night.  Looking 
from  the  window,  she  saw  the  figures 
of  three  young  men  on  the  walk  below. 
Two  of  them  were  evidently  trying  to 
raise  up  the  third,  who  seemed  to  be 
completely  drunk.  "Come  on,"  they 
said,  "get  up.  We  want  to  get  you 
home."  Lake  light  through  a  rift  in  the 
clouds,  these  words  seemed  to  cleave 
through  his  drunken  stupor,  and  he 
muttered:  "No,  no,  don't  take  me 
home.  It  would  kill  my  mother  to  see 
me  like  this!" 

To  the  watcher  by  the  bed-side  in  the 
room  above,  these  words  came  like  a 
sword  piercing  the  mother's  soul.  "Oh 
God,  I'll  give  him  up,"  she  cried — and 
just  as  the  dawn  crept  over  the  house- 
tops, the  little  light  flickered  and  died 
down,  the  little  heart  stopped  beating, 
the  mother's  head  was  bowed  above  the 
lifeless  form.  The  Lord  had  accepted 
the  sacrifice.  The  little  lad  had  become 
an  altar-boy  at  God's  throne.  Today 
there  lives  in  that  eastern  city  a  white- 
haired  little  woman.  She  has  but  one 
real  interest  in  life, — to  look  forward  to 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  209 

the  day  when  she  will  be  summoned,  and 
a  little  boy's  hand  will  clasp  hers  again, 
at  the  threshold  of  heaven. 

My  dear  friends,  we  are  living  today, 
not  in  a  critical  age,  but  in  an  age  of 
criticism.  It  has  become  almost  a  mat- 
ter of  good  form  to  question  the  mo- 
tives and  decisions  of  our  superiors,  so 
that  it  takes  a  great  deal  of  courage 
for  a  man  who  is  in  any  way  sensitive, 
to  aspire  to  elective  office.  When  reli- 
gious influences  no  longer  control,  how 
often  do  we  not  find  children  disrespect- 
ful, subjects  disobedient,  friends  selfish 
and  disloyal?  The  contagion  has  spread 
to  our  own  people  and  we  find  that  even 
those  who  are  nourished  with  the  body 
and  blood  of  the  Savior  are  affected  by 
this  spirit  of  the  times  and  the  world. 
We,  who  have  the  guidance  of  the 
church  and  the  parish,  sometimes  find 
the  cold,  clammy  grasp  of  criticism 
paralyzing  and  deadening  our  efforts 
for  the  spiritual  advancement  of  our 
people.  And  this  does  not  come  from 
without,  but  from  within,  where  we 
should  least  expect  to  find  it — from 
those  who  should  uphold  our  hands, 


210  ADDRESSES  AND   SERMONS 

who  should  advance  our  work,  who 
should  support  our  efforts. 

But,  as  we  well  know,  the  sharp  tooth 
of  criticism  bites  even  deeper.  There 
is  a  growing  spirit  of  dissatisfaction 
with  God.  If  His  decrees  do  not  satisfy 
us,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  complain  of 
Him,  even  sometimes  to  come  out  in 
open  rebellion  against  him.  Sometimes 
it's  due  to  pride,  sometimes  to  self- 
ishness, sometimes,  perhaps  only  to 
thoughtlessness,  but  it  happens  again 
and  again.  We  reverse  the  rule,  we 
put  our  wills,  our  convenience,  our  tem- 
porary happiness,  above  God's  will. 

When  you  and  I  want  something 
from  God,  and  we  kneel  down  and  pray 
to  Him  for  it,  are  we  not  generally  like 
the  old  woman  in  the  first  picture? 
Perhaps  we  are  looking  for  health  for 
ourselves  or  for  someone  dear  to  us. 
We  want  to  live,  or  we  want  them  to  be 
restored  to  health.  Do  we  consult  an 
all-wise  God  as  to  whether  it  is  best  for 
our  souls,  and  our  eternal  salvation: 
or  do  we  not  rather  appeal — even  dic- 
tate— to  an  all-powerful  Giver  of  life 
and  death  to  grant  what  we  want 
whether  it  is  best  for  us  or  not? 


ADDRESSES  AND   SERMONS  211 

It  may  be  that  we  are  ambitious,  we 
are  looking  for  success,  for  position, 
for  money  and  the  comfort  that  money 
brings.  And  if  it  does  not  come,  if  we 
fail,  if  we  remain  poor  and  struggling 
and  by  hard  work  win  only  enough  to 
keep  ourselves  and  our  families  from 
absolute  want,  then  we  are  disappointed 
with  God.  He  has  not  come  up  to  our 
expectations.  He  has  not  heard  our 
prayer.  "Oh,  what's  the  use  of  pray- 
ing anyway?" 

We  forget  that  God  wants  us  to  save 
our  souls,  far  and  above  anything  else, 
and  that  when  we  pray  He  hears  our 
prayers,  by  giving  us  what  is  best  for 
us.  We  forget  the  hundreds,  yes  and 
thousands,  right  here  in  this  city,  who 
might  have  saved  their  souls,  had  they 
remained  poor  and  humble  and  strug- 
gling. A  short  time  ago,  there  died  a 
man  away  from  church  and  God,  with- 
out a  chance  to  make  an  act  of  sorrow 
or  repentance.  He  had  been  a  good 
boy  in  school,  he  had  even  served  as 
altar-boy  for  a  saintly  priest,  but  as  he 
grew  older  he  grew  prosperous,  and 
the  riches  turned  his  thoughts  from 
God,  and  in  the  end  he  died  as  he  had 


212  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

lived.  How  many  there  are  like  him! 
Does  not  God  know  what  is  best  for 
you  and  me? 

But  a  short  time  ago  there  appeared 
in  one  of  our  newspapers  a  lengthy  dis- 
cussion as  to  why  God  does  not  hear 
our  prayers  and  stop  the  bloody  war- 
fare in  which  so  many  are  losing  their 
lives.  Of  course,  to  those  outside  of 
the  Church,  those  without  the  gift  of 
faith,  the  idea  may  not  occur  that  per- 
haps God  is  working  out  the  spiritual 
regeneration  of  the  peoples  of  Europe 
by  the  yery  visitation  that  this  war 
brings  into  nearly  every  home  and 
family.  Yet  we  are  told  that  in  France 
thousands  and  thousands  of  young  men, 
who  had  not  gone  to  church  or  Sacra- 
ments from  childhood,  cleansed  their 
souls  in  the  Sacrament  of  Penance  be- 
fore braving  death  in  battle ;  and  every 
Christian's  soul  must  be  moved  to  read 
that  wonderful  Christmas  pastoral  let- 
ter of  the  Bishops  in  Germany  with  its 
note  of  triumph,  not  for  earthly  suc- 
cesses that  the  war  has  brought  or  may 
bring,  but  for  the  triumph  of  Christ, 
for  the  return  of  almost  an  entire  peo- 
ple from  frivolity,  from  laxity,  from 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  213 

dangerous  doctrines  to  the  observance 
of  the  law  of  God,  to  the  practice  of 
Christian  simplicity,  to  confidence  in  the 
Lord  and  resignation  to  His  Holy  Will. 
"Thus  have  these  hard  times  brought 
us  nearer  to  the  Savior.  We  could  re- 
joice in  the  special  mercies  of  His 
Divine  Heart  and  hear  throughout  all 
the  noises  of  the  war,  the  beating  of 
that  quiet,  loving,  soul-seeking  heart." 
How  foolish  for  us  to  subject  God  to 
an  examination  by  the  microscope  of 
0ur  own  selfish  reasoning,  or  even  fool- 
ishly to  ask  whether  we  have  lost  faith, 
because  God  does  not  end  the  war  when 
we  tell  Him  to  do  so ! 

During  the  holy  season  of  Lent,  we, 
the  followers  of  Christ,  the  children  of 
Holy  Church,  in  a  spirit  of  penance  and 
fasting  and  prayer,  contemplate  the 
scenes  in  the  passion  and  death  of  our 
Savior.  There  is  just  one  scene  I  would 
bring  to  your  mind,  and  if  that  alone 
would  remain  indelibly  etched  in  our 
memory  with  the  lesson  it  conveys  to 
us,  then  for  you  and  me  this  Lenten 
time  would  prove  a  profitable  one  in- 
deed. It  is  the  scene  in  the  Garden, 
when,  on  the  night  before  His  death, 


214  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

the  silent  figure  of  the  Redeemer,  all 
alone,  faced  the  vision  of  the  sins  of 
the  world.  So  awful  was  this  vision, 
so  great  the  flood  of  the  sins  of  vile 
treachery,  of  beastly  lust,  of  awful  in- 
gratitude, to  this  pure,  sinless  Son 
of  God,  that  the  very  weight  of  it 
crushed  His  Sacred  Heart,  and  drove 
His  precious  blood  oozing  out  through 
every  pore  in  His  body,  until  it  fell 
from  Him  like  rain  and  gathered  in  a 
puddle  on  the  ground.  But  when  His 
human  nature  recoiled  at  the  sight  and 
His  human  will  rebelled  at  the  thought 
of  the  immensity  of  the  sacrifice,  and 
He  cried,  "Father,  let  this  chalice  pass 
from  me" ;  He  added  at  once  (and  this 
is  our  lesson,  yours  and  mine)  "but  not 
my  will,  but  Thine  be  done." 

Sometimes  a  chalice  is  pressed  to  our 
lips  by  the  angel  who  carries  out  the 
will  of  God.  It  may  be  filled  with  gall 
and  wormwood,  but  it  can  never  be  for 
any  of  us  as  bitter  as  was  the  chalice 
of  Gethsemane.  So  if  it  be  in  God's  de- 
sign that  we  must  suffer,  whether  it  be 
pain  or  disgrace  or  disappointment,  let 
us  look  back  on  the  scene  in  the  garden, 
and  remember  that  the  Son  of  God 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  215 

showed  us  how,  and  resolve  that,  like 
Him,  we,  too,  will  not  flinch;  we,  too, 
will  drink  the  chalice  of  bitterness  that 
comes  to  us  from  the  hand  of  God ;  we, 
too,  will  have  the  faith,  the  courage, 
and  the  confidence  in  God  and  resigna- 
tion to  His  Holy  Will,  to  repeat  with 
Jesus  the  words:  "Not  my  will,  but 
Thine  be  done." 


Address  at  the  Dedication  of  the  New  Church 

of  Sit.  Ignatius  Loyola,  Chicago, 

September  16th,  1917 

When  the  Reformation  of  the  16th 
century  had  broken  out  in  Germany, 
and  like  an  epidemic  or  a  scourge  had 
spread  in  different  directions,  it  passed 
through  many  towns  and  villages,  leav- 
ing in  its  train,  like  the  ravages  of  the 
scourge,  the  emptied  churches,  the  scat- 
tered congregations,  the  disordered 
peoples,  and  came  finally  to  the  borders 
of  Spain  and  Italy.  But  the  Lord,  hav- 
ing a  special  affection  for  these  two 
Latin  countries,  ordained  that  heresy 
and  schism  were  to  leave  them  un- 
scathed. 

To  combat  this  plague,  He  called 
forth  a  small  body  of  skilled  spiritual 
physicians,  who  were  found  all  pre- 
pared at  its  coming. 

By  them,  almost  400  years  ago,  it  was 
checked,  and  Luther's  teachings  never 
crossed  the  Alps  into  Italy  or  the  Pyren- 
nes  into  Spain.  The  man  who  was  the 
head  and  the  leader  of  this  body  of 
physicians  of  the  soul  was  the  one 
whose  name  we  have  attached  to  this 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  217 

splendid  basilica,  Ignatius  of  Loyola. 
He  and  his  companions  were  the  prede- 
cessors of  the  Fathers  who  are  in  this 
sanctuary  today  and  to  whose  care, 
guidance,  and  instruction  your  souls 
and  those  of  your  children  are  en- 
trusted by  us.  In  the  four  centuries 
that  have  passed  since  then,  the  Society 
had  not  changed  much,  for  St.  Ignatius 
was  a  wonderful  and  far-sighted  man ; 
he  had  not  only  a  profound  love  of  God, 
but  he  had  a  keen  knowledge  of  men; 
he  had  not  only  the  desire  of  eternal 
happiness  for  himself,  but  he  had  an 
insatiable  lust  for  souls;  he  was  not 
only  working  for  his  own  time,  but  he 
was  building  for  the  future.  He  laid 
down  for  his  followers  what  is  perhaps 
the  most  arduous  course  of  training 
that  any  body  of  men,  no  matter  what 
may  be  their  position  or  profession, 
must  undergo.  And  he  has  builded 
well,  for,  wherever  they  have  been,  they 
have  proven  to  be  a  help  to  religion,  a 
credit  to  the  Church  and  a  consolation 
to  the  bishop.  After  their  long  years 
of  training,  of  discipline  and  of  study, 
they  have  without  ceasing,  taught  the 
youth  in  their  schools  and  the  adults  in 


218  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

their  churches.  They  have  been  active 
in  this  city  for  fifty  years,  and  in  every 
walk  of  life  are  found  the  thousands 
who  have  been  the  recipients  of  their 
ministrations  in  the  class-room,  from 
the  pulpit  and  in  the  confessional. 

You  people  of  this  parish  have  been 
especially  fortunate.  During  the  little 
more  than  a  decade  of  its  existence,  the 
Jesuit  Fathers  have  been  your  spiritual 
fathers,  pastors  and  guides.  Small  and 
insignificant  was  the  beginning,  but  the 
growth  was  rapid,  and  today  success 
crowns  their  work.  In  the  ceremony  of 
this  morning,  we  see  simply  the  faith- 
ful observance  of  one  of  the  traditions 
of  the  Society.  In  every  great  city  you 
will  find  the  richest,  the  most  ornate, 
the  most  beautiful  of  the  churches  is 
the  Jesuit  church.  You  will  find  in  the 
Jesuit  churches  the  choicest  paintings 
of  the  masters,  the  finest  compositions 
in  music,  the  most  eloquent  of  preach- 
ers in  the  pulpit  and  the  most  crowded 
congregations  in  the  pews. 

So  today  we  welcome  St.  Ignatius 
among  the  best  architecturally  of  our 
Chicago  churches,  a  monumental  basil- 
ica church  which  will  grow  even  more 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  219 

beautiful  with  the  years.  We  can  rest 
assured  that  nothing  will  be  left  undone 
to  make  beautiful  and  attractive  the 
services  of  the  church.  We  know  that 
this  new  Jesuit  church  will  be  charac- 
terized by  stateliness  of  liturgy,  by 
richness  of  music,  by  excellence  and 
solidity  of  preaching.  May  it  serve  as 
a  fountain  of  blessings  and  a  source 
of  influence  for  good  in  every  home  in 
this  parish,  that  among  you  may  be 
verified  the  first  prayer  recited  here 
this  morning,  "0  God,  who  to  propa- 
gate the  greater  glory  of  Thy  name, 
didst  through  the  Blessed  Ignatius 
strengthen  the  Church  militant  with  a 
new  army,  grant  that  by  battling  with 
his  aid  and  example  on  earth,  we  may 
deserve  to  be  crowned  with  him  in 
heaven." 


Sermon  on  the  Feast  of  All  Saints,  Holy  Name 
Cathedral,  Chicago,  November  1st,  1916 

On  different  days  of  the  year,  we 
commemorate  the  birthday  of  some 
favorite  of  ours  among  the  Saints.  It 
may  be  of  St.  Patrick,  St.  Joseph,  St. 
Rita  or  one  of  the  feastdays  of  our 
Blessed  Mother.  But  there  is  one  day  of 
the  year,  the  great  family-feast  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  the  day  of  All  Saints, 
that,  with  its  companion,  All  Souls  day, 
is  more  dear,  more  intimate,  than  any 
other.  On  these  days  we  gather  for  a 
reunion  with  our  friends  among  the 
departed,  those  who  have  finished  life's 
labor,  who  have  arrived  safely  at  the 
end  of  the  journey,  who  have  died  in 
the  friendship  of  God  and  have  gone  to 
sleep  in  the  arms  of  Jesus,  Mary  and 
Joseph. 

One  of  the  most  impressive  and  ma- 
jestic passages  in  all  of  Holy  Writ  is 
read  in  the  epistle  of  tomorrow's  feast 
when  the  inspired  writer,  describing 
the  hosts  of  heaven,  after  numbering 
the  elect  of  the  tribes  of  Israel,  uses 
these  words,  "After  this,  I  saw  a  great 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  221 

multitude,  which  no  man  could  number, 
of  all  nations  and  tribes  and  peoples 
and  tongues,  standing  before  the 
throne  and  in  sight  of  the  Lamb, 
clothed  with  white  robes,  and  palms  in 
their  hands."  (Apoc.  VII  :9.)  Why, 
even  when  I  was  a  child,  I  was  always 
moved  by  the  reading  of  this  pas- 
sage. I  could  almost  see  them  pass  by, 
the  never-ending  procession  of  God's 
friends,  from  the  king  to  the  beggar — 
the  courtier  in  his  golden  robes,  the 
soldier  in  his  suit  of  mail,  the  mendicant 
in  his  sack  of  rags,  the  very  savage  of 
the  wild  in  his  breech-clout,  the  apos- 
tles, the  prophets,  the  confessors,  the 
virgins,  the  learned  and  the  lowly,  the 
powerful  and  the  servant,  the  master 
and  the  slave,  the  red  and  the  yellow 
as  well  as  the  black  and  the  white,  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  Sem,  Cham  and 
Japhet, — all  of  them  further  than  the 
eye  could  see,  more  numerous  than  the 
stars  in  heaven,  as  different  as  the  stars 
in  glory,  "the  multitude  which  no  man 
could  number,"  the  blessed  in  heaven, 
the  friends  of  God,  the  saints  in  glory. 
Tomorrow,  we  forget,  in  a  way  those 
whose  names  have  been  formally  in- 


222  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

scribed  on  the  calendar  of  the  saints, 
whom  God  has  glorified  by  signs  and 
wonders,  and  whom  Holy  Mother  the 
Church  by  her  infallible  authority  has 
placed  upon  her  altars  for  our  venera- 
tion, and  we  honor  in  particular  the 
millions  of  others,  unknown  to  us  now 
perhaps  but  in  whose  company  you  and 
I  hope  to  spend  eternity,  those  who 
occupy  the  thrones  vacated  by  the 
fallen  angels,  those  who  have  saved 
their  souls  and  who  are  now  basking  in 
the  sunlight  of  the  Beatific  Vision.  But 
did  I  say  unknown?  Let  us  see;  in  all 
that  vast  throng  is  there  no  face  that 
you  and  I  may  recognize?  Why  yes, 
for  some  of  us  there  is  perhaps  the  dear 
old  father  or  mother,  who  lead  such  a 
simple,  strict,  religious  life,  who  gave 
us  such  good  example,  and  died  so 
peacefully,  comforted  by  the  last  Sacra- 
ments, with  the  Holy  Name  on  their 
lips.  They  are  in  that  throng;  they 
died  in  God's  friendship.  We  celebrate 
their  feastday  tomorrow.  There  may 
be  the  loving  husband  or  wife,  who  was 
taken  from  us  so  soon,  but  the  memory 
of  whose  life  is  our  consolation  every 
day;  or  there  may  be  the  little  baby 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  223 

whom  the  Lord  lifted  from  our  arms 
that  it  might  be  a  little  angel  playing 
before  His  heavenly  throne.  Oh  yes, 
there  are  but  few  of  us  who  have  not 
some  friend  there,  some  one,  at  least, 
among  all  the  Saints. 

Do  you  understand,  then,  why  this  is 
the  great  family-feast,  why  the  day  is 
one  that  is  near  and  dear  to  us?  The 
true  Catholic's  heart  beats  with  joy  this 
day,  the  kind  of  joy  a  mother  feels 
when  her  child  is  delivered,  the  kind  of 
joy  that  the  family  experiences  when 
the  war  is  over  and  the  father  has  re- 
turned home,  that  we  feel  when  a 
friend  has  arrived  safe  after  a  peril 
at  sea.  - 

With  the  next  day,  come  signs  of 
mourning,  the  black  vestments,  the 
dirge-like  music,  the  repeated  cry  "Re- 
quiem aeternam."  And  yet  the  pre- 
vailing thought  is  not  the  sorrow  of 
parting,  as  at  a  burial.  There  is  noth- 
ing hopeless  in  it.  Rather  it  is  a  sound 
of  pleading.  It  is  a  message  of  appeal. 
It  is  a  call  for  help  from  one  part  of  the 
Church  to  the  other.  Those  whose 
prayer  the  Church  brings  to  us  that 
day  are  also  God's  friends,  as  they  are 


224  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

our  friends,  perhaps  our  dearest.  They 
are  being  cleansed,  they  are  being 
whitened  and  brightened  before  they 
can  go  in  to  see  God.  We  can  help 
them.  We  can  shorten  that  long  and 
painful  preparation,  we  can  lighten  it 
for  them  by  our  prayers,  by  the  Sacra- 
ments, by  the  Mass.  And  for  that  they 
cry  to  us,  "remember  us,  at  least  you, 
our  friends !"  Again  bear  in  mind,  that 
they  are  God's  friends,  and  hence  they 
can  help  us.  If  we  come  to  their  aid 
now,  do  you  think  for  a  moment  that 
they  will  forget  us?  They  will  be 
grateful;  they  will  repay  us  richly. 
How  wonderful  is  God's  goodness !  We 
part  from  our  loved  ones,  but  we  do  not 
say  farewell.  We  part  only  to  meet 
again  in  eternity.  And  even  as  they  are 
never  absent  from  our  thoughts,  so  are 
they  never  away  from  our  sides.  We 
are  always  in  touch  with  them:  we 
can  help  them  by  our  prayers,  and 
they,  whether  in  purgatory  or  later  in 
heaven,  are  watching  over  us  and  help- 
ing us.  If  we  escape  many  perils  and 
are  freed  from  many  dangers,  it  is 
often  because  a  loved  one  is  waiting 
and  praying  for  us,  ready  to  welcome 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  225 

us  when  we  have  entered  the  portals  of 
eternity.  From  the  moment  we  become 
God's  children  in  baptism,  unless  we 
ourselves  become  rebellious  by  mortal 
sin.  He  keeps  us  in  His  Church,  and 
death  only  ushers  us  from  the  Church 
militant  here  on  earth  to  the  Church 
suffering  in  purgatory,  and  then  to  the 
Church  triumphant  in  heaven.  No 
matter  in  which  of  these  three  divisions 
we  may  be,  we  are  bound  to  all  those  in 
communion  with  us  by  the  close  bond 
of  mutual  help  and  love,  the  love  that 
glorifies  life's  pathway  here  and  makes 
happy  our  Father's  mansions  hereafter. 
Just  think  of  this  sometimes,  and 
with  a  better  understanding  will  you 
recite  the  closing  words  of  your  profes- 
sion of  faith,  "And  I  believe  in  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church,  the  communion  of 
Saints,  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  the 
resurrection  of  the  body  and  life  ever- 
lasting. Amen." 


Sermon  on  Good  Friday,  Holy  Name  Cathedral, 
Chicago,  April  21st,  1916 

There  is  no  day  in  the  calendar  of  the 
Church  that  is  so  vested  with  mourning 
as  is  Good  Friday.  It  is  the  one  day  of 
the  year  that  is  literally  steeped  in  sad- 
ness. Our  neighbors  of  other  beliefs 
and  those  of  no  belief  at  all  sympathize 
with  us  as  a  body  today,  even  as  they 
do  with  us  individually  when  a  death 
occurs  in  our  home.  Pleasure  is  sus- 
pended, amusements  are  postponed, 
even  business  is  halted,  out  of  sympa- 
thy for  us,  and  the  world  over,  Chris- 
tians throng  their  churches  even  as 
you  do  this  evening.  Here,  the  bells  are 
silent,  the  organ  is  hushed,  no  music  is 
heard  but  the  haunting,  sorrowing 
notes  of  the  Prophet's  lamentations, 
and  the  plaintive,  pleading,  prayerful 
psalms  of  the  royal  singer,  foretelling 
as  they  do,  almost  describing  in  ad- 
vance, the  great  event  which  took  place 
on  this  day.  We  find  here  the  altar 
bare,  the  tabernacle  empty,  the  sanctu- 
ary stripped  of  its  ornaments.  Every- 
thing seems  to  tell  us  that  a  tragedy 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  227 

has  taken  place,  everything  tries  to 
move  our  senses  to  sorrow,  to  remind  us 
that  some  one  near  and  dear  to  us  has 
suffered  and  died. 

And  yet,  why  this  universal  sorrow, 
why  this  cry  of  mourning  and  affliction 
without  a  single  note  of  joy  to  relieve 
it?  Is  not  this  the  day  for  which  the 
nations  had  waited  for  four  thousand 
years?  Is  not  this  the  time  when  the 
great  price  of  our  salvation  was  paid? 
By  the  great  event  of  this  day  were  not 
the  shackles  stricken  from  our  hands, 
the  bonds  of  slavery  that  held  the  hu- 
man race  broken,  the  gates  of  heaven 
opened  again,  so  that  you  and  I  might 
enter  therein?  Why,  then,  are  we  sor- 
rowing today?  Why  should  we  not 
rather  rejoice  because  we  have*  been 
redeemed? 

That  you  may  better  understand, 
come  with  me,  0  Christian  people,  for 
a  short  while  this  evening,  and  I  will 
take  you  up  to  the  hill-top.  I  will  not 
bring  you  through  the  awful  agony  of 
that  night;  I  will  not  ask  you  to  count 
the  blows  that  fell  upon  the  helpless 
figure  tied  to  the  pillar;  I  will  not  ask 
you  to  stand  by  and  watch  while  the 


228  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

long  sharp  thorns  are  pressed  down 
upon  the  white  forehead,  until  they  dig 
deep  into  the  very  cells  of  the  brain ;  I 
will  not  drag  you  here  along  the  weary 
way  of  the  Cross,  nor  ask  you  to  wit- 
ness the  breaking  of  a  mother's  heart 
when  she  bids  farewell  to  her  son;  I 
will  not  have  you  stand  by  when  the 
blunt  nails  are  hammered  through  the 
quivering  hands  and  feet.  No,  I  will 
spare  you  this.  But  come  with  me  for 
a  vision  of  that  scene  on  Calvary's 
mount;  look  at  your  God  hanging  on 
a  wooden  cross;  see  the  price  He  paid 
for  the  blotting  out  of  your  sins,  and 
judge  for  yourself  why  it  is  that  all 
the  world  weeps  with  you  at  the  bare 
remembrance  of  that  first  Good  Friday. 
There,  on  the  top  of  the  hill  of  Cal- 
vary, in  the  glare  of  the  noon-day  sun, 
on  the  middle  of  the  three  crosses,  its 
entire  weight  suspended  by  the  nails 
driven  through  the  hands,  there  hangs 
a  figure,  hardly  distinguishable  as  a 
man,  although  the  inscription  above 
him  tells  us  that  this  is  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth, King  of  the  Jews.  So  shocking 
is  His  condition,  so  terrible  has  been 
the  punishment  He  has  received,  that 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  229 

there  is  hardly  a  speck  of  the  white 
skin  to  the  found  on  His  entire  body; 
it  is  rather  like  one  great  wound,  like 
a  great  blotch  of  caked  blood  attached 
to  that  cross.  Not  a  movement  in  the 
body,  not  a  vestige  of  life  is  apparent. 
The  body  is  crumpled  up,  hanging  like 
a  dead  weight  from  the  two  nails ;  the 
head  has  fallen  forward  and  is  resting 
on  the  chest;  the  lower  jaw  has 
dropped ;  the  eyes  are  glassy  and  partly 
closed.  It  seems  indeed  as  if  death  had 
come  to  relieve  this  man  on  the  cross, 
this  man  of  many  sorrows,  this  victim 
of  a  people's  hate  and  fury. 

There  beneath  him  are  the  thousands 
who  had  come  to  Jerusalem  for  the  days 
of  the  pasch.  There  they  are  huddled 
together  like  a  herd  of  cattle,  the  faces 
all  turned  upwards,  the  eyes  fixed  on 
one  point — the  figure  on  the  central 
cross.  There  they  are,  restlessly  mov- 
ing, unquiet,  disturbed,  like  the  surface 
of  a  troubled  sea.  Ordinarily  a  slug- 
gish people,  something  had  broken  loose 
within  them,  a  wave  of  hysteria  had 
swept  over  them,  the  thin  veneer  of  an 
uncouth  civilization  and  self-restraint 
had  been  scratched  from  the  surface, 


230  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

and  bald,  brutal,  naked  passions  had 
broken  forth.  Their  faces  distorted 
with  partial  madness,  their  eyes  bulg- 
ing with  hate,  their  voices  hoarse  and 
raw  with  constant  shouting,  they  had 
become  a  lawless,  irresponsible  mob 
that  had  broken  away  from  all  re- 
straint: they  had  tasted  blood,  they  had 
seen  it  flow  from  this  innocent  victim, 
and  like  a  herd  of  jungle-tigers,  like  a 
pack  of  timber-wolves,  they  would  not 
rest  content  until  the  last  drop  of  blood 
had  oozed  forth,  until  their  living  vic- 
tim had  become  a  lifeless  corpse,  until 
the  man  on  the  cross  had  given  up  his 
spirit. 

What  is  it  that  has  come  over  this 
people  ?  They  are  not  all  strangers,  for 
all  Jerusalem  is  gathered  in  that  mob. 
And  even  the  others, — all  had  heard  of 
Him,  knew  of  His  goodness,  and  most 
of  them  had  at  some  time  seen  Him. 
There  was  no  one  in  that  crowd  to 
whom  he  had  done  a  harmful  turn. 
Not  even  the  priests  and  pharisees,  who 
were  now  going  about  adding  fuel  to 
the  flame,  whose  sneering  words  fell 
like  poisoned  saline  drops  into  the  raw 
and  inflamed  minds,  not  even  them  had 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  231 

He  harmed ;  for  had  He  not  taught  the 
crowds  to  respect  their  authority,  even 
though  He  rebuked  their  hypocrisy? 
There  were  some  there  whom  He  had 
fed  when  they  were  hungry;  there  were 
others  whose  sick  He  had  cured,  but 
they  dared  not  speak  for  Him  now. 
There  were  mothers  there  whose  mem- 
ories must  have  recalled  to  them  the 
day  when  He  blessed  their  little  ones 
with  the  words,  "Suffer  little  children  to 
come  to  Me,  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom 
of  Heaven."  Now  in  the  hour  of  his 
need,  where  was  the  mother  whose  only 
son  He  had  restored  from  the  dead? 
Where  was  the  leader  of  the  synagogue 
whose  little  girl  He  had  brought  back 
to  life?  Where  was  the  father  of  the 
lunatic  boy?  Where  were  the  thou- 
sands He  had  fed  in  the  desert  and  who 
wanted  to  make  Him  a  king?  No  one, 
not  a  single,  solitary  soul  was  left  to 
utter  one  word  in  his  defence.  For 
three  years  He  had  gone  about  the 
country  always  doing  good,  preaching 
the  gospel  of  love,  ministering  to  the 
poor,  helping  the  weak.  He  made 
friends  of  the  lowly  and  the  ignorant. 
He  cured  the  leprous  outcast.  He  freed 


232  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

the  woman  of  the  streets  from  her  sins. 
And  where  are  they  now — all  gone,  all 
turned  against  Him,  all  part  of  that 
howling,  cursing  mob — all  but  His 
Mother,  John,  and  the  Magdalene !  His 
friends,  His  apostles,  the  retinue  of  His 
disciples,  have  gone— disappeared  when 
He  needed  them  most — cowards  or, 
worse,  traitors !  One  of  them  had  sold 
him;  another,  and  that  was  the  cruelest, 
Peter,  had  denied  Him,  even  as  He  was 
passing  by.  Why,— oh  why, — what  was 
the  reason  for  this  dreadful  change? 
Why  had  His  friends  become  enemies? 
Why  had  an  entire  people  forgotten  a 
great  debt  of  gratitude?  Why  had 
they  listened  to  the  groundless,  worth- 
less charges  of  the  pharisees,  when  the 
sight  of  His  good  deeds  had  hardly 
faded  from  their  eyes?  There  was  no 
ground  for  their  resentment,  there  was 
no  reason  for  their  anger,  there  was 
nothing,  absolutely  nothing  to  justify 
that  senseless,  brutal  cruelty.  You, 
young  mother,  if  He  had  taken  your 
baby  boy  from  his  little  white  coffin,  and 
placed  him  living,  breathing,  smiling  in 
your  arms,  wouldn't  you  have  gone 
through  fire  for  him?  You,  in  the 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  233 

flower  of  your  manhood's  strength,  had 
you  been  born  blind,  and  had  He  opened 
your  eyes  to  see  the  gold  of  the  sun- 
shine, the  blue  of  the  sky  and  the  faces 
of  your  loved  ones,  wouldn't  you  face 
and  fight  an  army  in  His  defence? 
You,  young  girl  in  your  youth  and 
beauty,  had  you  been  an  outcast  by  the 
roadside,  with  the  leprosy  eating  into 
your  features  and  the  flesh  dropping 
bit  by  bit  from  your  bones,  a  thing  of 
horror  to  the  sight  and  of  terror  to  the 
touch,  and  had  He  come  and  made  your 
flesh  whole  and  your  skin  clear,  would 
not  every  breath  you  drew  be  given  to 
Him? 

And  yet — would  you  ?  Are  you  sure  ? 
Just  wait  a  minute  and  see. 

If  you  want  to  know  what  was  the 
reason  of  this  sudden  change  of  front, 
of  this  brutal  fury  of  the  mob,  of  this 
awful  cruelty  of  judge  and  executioner 
towards  a  helpless,  innocent  victim, 
then  let  your  memory  go  back  a  little 
further.  You  remember  that,  when 
the  Savior  was  taken  captive  in  the 
garden,  He  turned  to  the  chief -priests 
and  magistrates  of  the  temple  and  said 
to  them,  "This  is  your  hour  and  the 


234  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

power  of  darkness."  Go  back  even  fur- 
ther. What  was  it  that  caused  His 
dreadful  agony  during  the  early  hours 
of  that  night;  what  was  the  vision  that 
passed  before  His  eyes,  so  terrible  that 
the  blood  forced  through  the  pores  of 
His  body,  dropped  from  Him  like  rain 
and  gathered  in  a  pool  on  the  ground? 
Was  it  the  memory  of  anything  disa- 
greeable in  His1  life?  Certainly  not, 
for  He  was  spotless  purity.  Was  it  the 
anticipation  of  His  bodily  sufferings 
and  the  death  He  was  to  undergo  ?  No, 
the  Lord  never  lost  His  courage  in  that 
way.  He  was  too  brave  for  that.  What 
was  it?  What  was  that  weight  that  so 
crushed  His  heart  and  bowed  His 
spirit?  Your  sins  and  mine  were  the 
cause  of  all  His  sufferings !  Remember, 
my  dear  brethren,  this  is  no  pious,  fan- 
ciful explanation;  it  is  founded  on  abso- 
lute fact,  on  the  words  of  Scripture,  the 
teaching  of  the  Patriarchs  and  Proph- 
ets of  old,  the  writings  of  the  Fathers 
of  the  Church,  the  belief  of  the  Church 
in  all  ages.  Your  sins  and  mine — tEe 
sins  of  generations  of  His  own  children 
— they  and  they  alone  caused  this  awful 
tragedy.  He  saw  them  all  that  night, 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  235 

one  atop  of  the  other,  growing,  multi- 
plying, rushing  on  like  an  avalanche, 
crushing  His  sacred  Heart  by  their 
awful  weight,  driving  the  very  life- 
blood  from  its  source.  So  often,  oh,  so 
often,  He  saw  His  passion  and  death 
made  useless;  all  that  He  had  done,  all 
that  He  was  to  suffer,  every  drop  of 
His  Blood,  thrown  into  the  gutter  with 
contempt  by  those  He  had  loved  with  a 
greater  than  mother's  love;  His  sacri- 
fice despised  by  you  and  by  me !  It  was 
our  sins  that  brought  about  that 
change  in  the  Jewish  people,  that  egged 
them  on  to  insult,  to  injury,  to  injustice. 
They  are  not  so  much  to  blame.  You 
and  I  are  the  culprits.  You  and  I  stood 
in  that  mob.  "Your  hour  and  the  power 
of  darkness,"  the  night  when  you 
yielded  to  the  tempter  and  virtue  went 
crashing  down  like  a  blackened  ruin  in 
your  soul — that  scene  and  that  sin 
passed  before  the  Savior,  added  to  the 
crushing  weight,  whirled  through  the 
air,  and  like  an  evil  spirit  stirred  up  the 
passion  of  that  mob  and  left  its  mark 
there  in  the  wound  on  the  Savior's  flesh. 
That  evil  thought,  that  vile  plotting 
that  gave  you  pleasure,  caused  satisf  ac- 


236  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

tion  to  you,  perhaps  harm  to  another, 
which  you  foolishly  thought  no  one 
knew  of,  see  it  there,  pressing  the  thorn 
deeper  into  His  brow,  see  it  adding 
venom  to  the  pharisee's  tongue,  adding 
to  the  hatred  in  the  Jew's  eyes,  to  the 
contempt  in  the  Roman's  treatment  of 
the  man  on  the  cross!  Why  blame 
them  ?  Are  they  more  guilty  than  you  ? 
Did  a  Judas  who  sold  Him  do  a  more 
dastardly  thing  than  you,  sacrilegious 
Christian,  who  forced  Jesus  into  your 
filthy  heart  by  an  unworthy  commun- 
ion? You  with  the  mark  of  Cain  on 
your  brow,  who  drove  an  unborn  infant 
into  outer  darkness  without  a  chance 
of  seeing  God,  did  you  not  help  wield 
the  hammer  that  drove  the  nails?  You, 
who  by  your  wretched,  bad  example 
and  by  your  sneering  words  about  God, 
His  Church,  His  ministers,  and  those 
who  try  to  do  their  duty,  helped  to  tear 
down  the  defenses  that  might  have 
saved  a  young  man's  or  woman's  faith 
from  destruction  and  them  from  spirit- 
ual death,  were  you  not  in  the  forefront 
of  those  who  yelled  aloud,  "Others  He 
has  saved,  Himself  He  cannot  save !  If 
thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  come  down 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  237 

from  the  cross"?  No,  don't  blame  the 
Jews !  You  and  I  are  the  ones  to  take 
the  blame.  Our  sins  crucified  the  Lord. 
Therefore,  in  humble  acknowledg- 
ment of  your  guilt,  in  sincere  contrition 
for  your  misdeeds,  raise  your  eyes  in 
supplication  to  the  Savior  dying  on  the 
cross, — and  see,  almost  as  if  in  answer 
to  your  prayer,  the  head  is  slowly  raised, 
the  eyelids  open,  the  lips  are  parted,  and 
from  them  comes  a  prayer,  a  prayer  as 
much  for  you  and  for  me  as  for  the  mob 
below,  "Father,  forgive  them  for  they 
know  not  what  they  do."  "They  did 
not  know  that  they  caused  me  such 
pain,  so  much  suffering,  such  awful 
agony.  They  did  not  know  that  their 
sins  of  weakness  and  their  sins  of  mal- 
ice were  the  executioners  of  their  God. 
They  are  poor,  ignorant,  miserable  sin- 
ners. Forgive  them;  do  not  let  them 
perish,  Father,  spare  them  for  my  sake. 
See,  I  die  for  them."  And  even  as  for 
the  three  years  of  His  public  life,  He 
wandered  footsore  and  weary,  search- 
ing for  the  weak,  the  unfortunate,  the 
sinful,  to  save  them,  to  restore  them  to 
grace;  so  now,  when  hanging  to  the 
cross,  beaten,  bruised,  wounded,  dying, 


238  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

this  great  Good  Shepherd  pours  forth 
all  the  golden  love  of  His  sacred  Heart 
into  one  last  appeal  to  His  heavenly 
Father  for  you,  for  me,  for  other  sin- 
ners, "Forgive  them,  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do." 

When  contemplating  his  crucified 
Lord,  St.  Bernard  cried  out  in  an 
outburst  of  grief:  "Ah,  that  head,  at 
the  sight  of  which  the  Blessed  Spirits 
tremble,  is  now  pierced  with  countless 
thorns;  that  face,  far  lovelier  than 
any  human  face,  is  now  soiled  with 
the  foul  spittal  of  the  Jews;  those  eyes, 
more  brilliant  than  the  sunlight,  are 
being  dimmed  by  death;  those  ears, 
which  resounded  with  the  hosannas  of 
the  angels,  are  defiled  by  the  vulgar  in- 
sults of  the  impenitent;  those  feet,  so 
often  wearied  in  their  search  for  the 
lost  sheep,  are  now  nailed  to  the  cross: 
those  hands,  that  had  shaped  heaven 
and  earth  and  man  and  every  living 
thing,  are  now  stretched  bleeding  to  the 
tree  of  infamy;  that  whole  body  is 
scourged  and  torn,  and  there  is  nothing 
sound  or  whole  in  Him,  nothing  but  the 
parched  tongue,  which  alone  is  con- 
stantly refreshed  by  the  outpouring  of 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  239 

His  infinite  love  in  order  to  beg  forgive- 
ness for  His  enemies,  to  reward  the 
penitent  thief  with  the  promise  of  para- 
dise, to  console  Mary  and  John,  to  cry 
out  the  words  of  triumph,  'It  is  finished,' 
and  to  commend  His  departing  soul  into 
His  heavenly  Father's  hands !" 

But  stay,  good  Christian  man  and 
woman,  before  that  head  droops,  before 
those  eyes  break,  before  that  sacred 
heart  is  pierced,  before  that  divine 
Spirit  leaves  its  body,  learn  just  one 
lesson,  utter  one  prayer  here  tonight 
when  your  lips  touch  the  crucifix:  on 
the  cross  to  the  right  there  hangs  a  sin- 
ner like  you.  There  may  be  more,  there 
may  be  less,  excuse  for  him  than  for 
you ;  but  in  life  you  have  imitated  him. 
Would  you  follow  him  after  death? 
Then  let  the  prayer  that  fell  from  his 
lips  rise  to  yours;  it  merited  him  eternal 
life,  it  will  bring  you  a  like  reward. 
There  are  some  here  this  evening  who 
will  have  crossed  into  the  great  beyond 
before  another  Good  Friday  comes.  It 
may  be  the  preacher  in  the  pulpit,  it 
may  be  the  gray-haired  man,  it  may  be 
the  young  girl  near  me. 

"Remember  me,  oh  Lord,"  when  the 


240  ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 

hour  draws  near  and  I  must  come  to 
Thee  to  render  my  account,  then  do 
thou  remember  me.  When  the  heart 
becomes  weaker  and  the  mind  confused, 
when  the  eyes  are  breaking  and  the 
ears  filled  with  a  roar  of  confused 
sounds,  when  the  faces  of  loved  ones 
are  fading  away  and  the  voice  of  the 
priest  is  only  a  distant  murmur,  when 
my  limbs  are  grown  numb  and  cold  with 
coming  dissolution,  and  my  fingers 
clutch  at  airy  nothings,  then,  good 
Jesus,  do  thou  remember  me.  When  my 
troubled  conscience  reproaches  me,  and 
my  misdeeds  loom  terribly  before  me, 
when  the  ready  excuses  that  before  did 
comfort  me  are  now  shrivelled  up  in 
the  fierce  light  of  a  nearing  judgment, 
do  thou,  Jesus,  remember  me.  When 
breath  comes  shorter  and  slower,  when 
death  draws  near  to  claim  his  own  and 
covers  my  face  with  his  ashen  pall, 
when  my  body  rises  for  the  final  revolt, 
before  the  soul  leaves  this  house  of  clay, 
do  thou  then,  good  Jesus,  remember  me. 
Let  Thy  holy  name  be  the  last  to  fall 
from  my  lips,  let  Thy  dying  prayer  on 
the  cross  be  the  last  thought  in  my 
mind,  the  last  eff ort  of  my  heart.  Let 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS  241 

Thy  image  on  the  cross  cool  my  fevered 
lips  while  my  soul  is  hovering  there,  let 
Thy  face  greet  my  eyes  when  they  open 
in  eternity.  Jesus,  Son  of  God,  Who 
didst  die  on  the  cross  for  me,  in  the 
hour  of  my  death,  remember  me." 


Part  II 

PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 


First  Pastoral  Letter  of  Appeal  for  the  Support 
of  the  Holy  See 

GEORGE    WILLIAM   MUNDELEIN 

By  the  Grace  of  God  and  the  Favor  of  the 
Apostolic  See 

Archbishop  of  Chicago. 

To    the    Clergy   and    People    of   the 
Archdiocese  of  Chicago: 

Dearly  Beloved: 

Ever  since  the  time  that  the  Holy 
See  was  despoiled  of  its  temporal 
possessions,  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  has 
been  maintained  by  the  charity  of  his 
children.  Excepting  a  few  very  small 
revenues,  the  Holy  Father  and  the 
entire  government  of  the  Church  had 
to  subsist  on  the  voluntary  offerings 
of  the  faithful  throughout  the  world 
which  were  given  in  the  form  of  the 
annual  Peter's  Pence  collection. 

For  his  own  personal  needs  or  for 
those  who  immediately  surround  him, 
the  Holy  Father  requires  very  little,  but 
for  the  expenses  of  maintaining  the 


244  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

government  of  the  Church,  the  prelates 
and  priests  attached  to  the  various 
sacred  congregations,  the  representa- 
tives of  the  Holy  See  and  last,  but  by 
no  means  least,  the  missions  and 
missionaries  in  distant,  uncivilized, 
heathen  lands,  the  annual  outlay  even 
with  the  greatest  economy  is  very  large. 
By  far  the  largest  portion  of  the 
funds  to  meet  this  has  come  from  the 
Catholic  nations  of  Europe,  who 
counted  it  a  filial  privilege,  like  children 
far  away  from  home,  to  contribute  to 
the  father's  support  and  comfort.  And 
the  most  generous  was  the  smallest  of 
them  all,  the  little  kingdom  of  the 
Belgians.  Next  came  Austria  and 
France,  for  both  countries  seemed  to 
vie  with  each  other  in  liberally  con- 
tributing to  the  support  of  Christ's 
Vicar  on  earth. 

But  within  the  past  two  years  all 
this  is  changed ;  war  with  all  its  horrors 
has  spread  over  the  face  of  Europe 
and  brought  misfortune  to  these  lands. 
Poor  little  orphaned  Belgium,  the  once 
prosperous,  progressive  country,  has 
been  trampled  under  the  feet  of  an 
invading  army  and  its  towns  and 
villages  destroyed  by  the  engines  of 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  245 

war.  Once  it  was  a  land  of  plenty; 
today  it  can  hardly  give  bread  to  its 
women,  work  to  its  men,  milk  to  its 
babies.  Austria,  too,  a  few  years  ago  a 
great  Catholic  country,  its  people,  the 
children  of  the  Teuton  and  the  Slav 
races,  open-handed,  generous,  kind; 
but  today  the  Austrian  industries  lie 
idle,  while  its  workingmen  have 
become  food  for  the  cannon  and  its 
women,  toilers  in  the  fields  to  keep 
themselves  and  their  children  from 
hunger  and  want.  France  (even  after 
the  separation  of  Church  and  State,  she 
contributed  more  to  the  Holy  Father 
than  this  country)  and  the  Catholic 
parts  of  Germany,  all  are  now  cut  off 
from  the  chance  of  contributing  to  the 
support  of  the  Holy  See  by  the  great 
need  the  war  plague  has  created  at 
home.  And  even  in  the  few  smaller 
countries,  unscorched  as  yet  by  the 
almost  universal  conflagration,  the 
soldiers  stand  on  guard  and  the 
people  watch  with  fear,  and  pray  with 
fervor  that  the  black  war  clouds  that 
threaten  may  not  break  over  them  and 
bring  destruction  and  disaster  in  their 
wake. 
Thus,  wherever  he  looks,  in  the  very 


246      PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

first  years  of  his  Pontificate,  the 
present  successor  of  St.  Peter,  Pope 
Benedict  XV,  sees  only  sorrow,  death, 
devastation;  Europe,  one  big  hospital 
filled  with  maimed  and  wounded,  one 
vast  trench  crowded  with  soldiers,  one 
great  house  of  mourning  echoing  the 
cries  of  the  newly-widowed  women  and 
recently-orphaned  children.  There  is 
but  one  land  where  the  blessings  of 
peace  still  remain,  one  country  where 
God's  hand  still  rests  in  benediction  on 
His  people,  one  nation  that  has  cause 
to  be  grateful  to  the  Lord  because  war, 
hunger  and  sorrow  have  been  kept 
from  their  homes  and  their  hearts,  and 
that  is  our  own  beloved  country.  Is  it 
not  fitting,  then,  that  we  should  show 
ourselves  grateful,  that  while  we  give 
thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  all  His 
mercies,  we  give  proof,  too,  of  our  love 
and  devotion  to  His  Vicar  on  earth  in  a 
generous  and  a  practical  manner?  And 
now  the  time  and  the  opportunity  for 
this  have  come  to  us. 

In  a  word,  the  Holy  Father  is  in 
want  and  he  appeals  to  us  for  help.  It  is 
to  us,  the  Catholics  of  this  country, 
that  the  Holy  See  looks,  and  calls  upon 
to  take  up  now  some  of  the  burdens 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS      247 

hitherto  borne  by  other  nations. 
Perhaps  because  of  our  own  needs  we 
were  not  asked  to,  nor  did  we  do  much 
for  our  Holy  Father  in  the  past.  But 
now,  when  he  is  in  need,  not  for  him- 
self, but  for  the  government  of  the 
Church,  for  the  scattered  far  away 
missions,  for  the  poor,  the  destitute,  the 
widowed  and  the  fatherless,  who  have 
stretched  out  their  arms  to  him  for 
succor,  and  who  have  not  pleaded  in 
vain,  when  he  has  no  one  else  to  appeal 
to,  now  it  is  different.  It  is  a  direct 
appeal  to  our  loyalty,  it  is  a  challenge 
to  our  generosity,  it  is  a  test  of  our 
love  for  our  Church  and  its  head.  And 
we  American  Catholics  are  a  loyal 
people;  we  have  met  every  need  that 
has  arisen;  we  have  erected  our 
churches;  we  have  supported  our  in- 
stitutions; we  have  built  and  are 
maintaining  our  schools.  And  par- 
ticularly here  in  this  city  and  in  this 
diocese,  our  people  have  never  been 
backward  when  called  upon  to  help 
the  works  of  religion  and  charity.  So 
too,  now  that  other  great  dioceses  of 
the  country  have  given  us  such  splendid 
examples  of  generosity,  we  need  have 
no  fear  that  the  Catholics  of  Chicago 


248      PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

will  be  found  wanting  in  a  generous 
response  to  this  special  appeal. 

Particularly  when  we  consider  the 
object  of  this  appeal,  the  purpose  for 
which  this  collection  is  to  be  taken, 
what  a  privilege  and  a  pleasure  it  offers 
to  participate  therein!  Were  the  head 
of  this  diocese  or  the  priests  in  your 
parish  in  want  and  distress,  there  is 
not  one  of  you  who  would  hesitate  to 
come  to  our  assistance.  But  we  are 
appealing  for  one  who  is  far  greater, 
who  is  more  entitled  to  your  respect, 
who  is  more  worthy  of  your  love.  He 
does  so  much  for  us,  his  thoughts  are 
constantly  filled  with  solicitude  for  us, 
his  heart  is  ever  raised  in  prayer  for 
us,  his  hand  is  always  extended  in 
benediction  over  us,  and  we  have  done 
so  little  for  him,  we  think  so  seldom 
of  him,  we  have  given  so  sparingly  to 
him  and  for  his  needs.  And  yet,  out- 
side of  the  hidden  Lord  in  the  taber- 
nacle, is  he  not  the  most  sacred  person 
on  earth,  does  he  not  represent  in  him- 
self the  authority  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  does  he  not  hold 
the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven? 
And  so,  when  on  the  last  Sunday  of 
this  month  of  November,  which  is  also 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS      249 

the  last  Sunday  of  the  Church's  year, 
you  bring  your  gift  for  him  for  the 
special  Peter's  Pence  collection  of  this 
year,  think  of  our  Holy  Father  that 
morning  while  assisting  at  Mass;  pray 
for  him,  this  man  who  bears  the  heavy 
burden  of  the  Papacy  in  these 
troublous  times,  who  with  his  frail 
bodily  frame,  but  with  a  strong  clear 
vision,  and  kind,  fatherly  heart,  must 
face  so  many  difficulties,  so  many 
worries,  so  many  sorrows;  pray  for 
him,  that  the  Lord  may  preserve  him, 
give  him  strength,  make  him  blessed 
on  earth  and  deliver  him  not  into  the 
hands  of  his  enemies. 

Faithfully  yours  in  Christ, 
^GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 
Archbishop  of  Chicago. 
Octave  of  the  Feast  of  All  Saints,  1916. 


Second  Pastoral  Letter  of  Appeal  for  the  Sup- 
port of  the  Holy  See 

GEORGE    WILLIAM    MUNDELEIN 

By  the  Grace  of  God  and  the  Favor  of  the 
Apostolic  See 

Archbishop  of  Chicago 

To    the    Clergy    and    People    of    the 
Archdiocese  of  Chicago : 

My  Dearly  Beloved: 

The  season  of  the  year  has  again 
come  when  the  head  of  this  diocese 
appeals  to  his  faithful  people  on  behalf 
of  his  and  their  father  and  superior 
the  Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ  on  earth, 
Pope  Benedict  XV.  The  third  Sunday 
in  the  month  of  November  is  the  day 
fixed  by  us,  on  which  the  priests  and 
people  of  this  archdiocese  are  ex- 
horted to  earnestly  pray  and  to 
bring  their  offerings  for  our  Holy 
Father,  that  they  may  help  relieve 
his  necessities,  aid  his  charities,  and 
give  practical  proof  of  their  pride 
in  him,  of  their  reverence  for  his 
supreme  office  and  their  affection  for 
his  beloved  and  lovable  person.  The 
response  of  our  people  to  our  ap- 
peal last  year  was  so  noble,  so 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  251 

enthusiastic,  so  generous,  that  it  was 
recorded  as  the  largest  and  most  re- 
markable offering  ever  sent  by  any 
diocese  in  this  country  as  the  annual 
Peter's  Pence  collection  to  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff.  And  it  is  the  vivid 
recollection  of  this  outburst  of  gen- 
erosity on  the  part  of  the  faithful  of 
Chicago  that  gives  us  increased  con- 
fidence in  placing  before  them  our 
Holy  Father's  needs  this  year  and 
pleading  for  their  renewed  support  and 
co-operation. 

For  surely  we  have  reason  to  give 
evidence  of  the  feelings  of  our  hearts 
towards  him  who  to-day  sits  in  Peter's 
chair.  Nowhere  in  this  wide  world  is 
there  a  Catholic  worthy  of  the  name 
who  is  not  proud  of  our  Holy  Father. 
He  is  the  one  bright,  calm,  compassion- 
ate figure,  standing  forth  amid  the 
gloom  and  the  noise  and  the  horror  of 
this  conflict  that  has  rent  asunder  all 
Christendom.  He  is  the  one  beacon  of 
hope  towards  which  the  tired  eyes  of 
the  stricken,  sorrowing,  suffering 
peoples  of  Europe  and  Asia  have 
turned.  To  them  he  seems  almost  like 
another  Christ,  whose  Vicar  he  is,  and 
it  is  in  answer  to  their  agonizing, 


252  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

heart-rending  plea  "Lord,  save  us,  we 
perish"  that  he  cries  out,  even  as  did  his 
Master,  "Peace,  be  still."  And  reverent- 
ly have  they  listened  to  the  Holy 
Father,  Emperors,  Kings,  Presidents, — 
Catholics,  Protestants  and  Pagans, — 
allies,  combatants  and  neutrals,  and — 
thanks  to  God — none  of  them  in  their 
answer  to  him  have  closed  the  door  to 
the  hope  of  an  early  dawning  peace. 

It  would  seem,  indeed,  as  if  the 
Almighty,  repeating  again  an  occur- 
rence frequent  in  the  history  of  the 
Papacy,  had  raised  up  this  Pontiff,  a 
brilliant  statesman  and  a  loving  father, 
to  meet  the  particular  need  of  this 
time.  From  its  very  beginning  has  he 
prayed,  and  without  ceasing  has  he 
urged  us  to  pray,  that  this  war,  which 
has  devastated  the  world,  which  has 
sown  the  seeds  of  sorrow  and  hatred  in 
almost  every  nation,  which  threatens 
even  the  supremacy,  yes,  the  very  ex- 
istence of  the  white  races,  may  soon  be 
brought  to  an  end.  More  than  this,  he 
has  labored  day  and  night,  has  used 
every  means  at  his  command,  has  taken 
advantage  of  every  opportunity  that 
presented  itself,  to  bring  nearer  the' 
approach  of  a  lasting  peace,  to  hasten 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  253 

the  dawn  of  that  day  when  the  civilized 
world  will  awake  from  the  nightmare 
of  hate  and  slaughter  that  has  obsessed 
it  for  three  long  years. 

There  are  children  of  his  fighting 
under  almost  every  flag  on  the  battle- 
field. He  has  not  chided  any  of  them  nor 
tried  to  side  against  them.  He  would 
not  add  to  the  weight  of  sorrow  that 
now  bears  them  down.  He  would  have 
no  act  of  his  rankle  in  their  memory, 
for  they  are  all  dear  to  him  and  are 
prompted  by  the  most  unselfish  emotion 
of  the  human  heart,  the  devotion  to 
their  country  and  the  love  of  their  fire- 
sides. For  a  long  time  we  were  mere 
onlookers  in  this,  the  world's  greatest, 
fiercest,  costliest  conflict.  But  now,  too, 
the  hour  has  come,  when  those  who  hold 
the  destiny  of  this  land  in  their  hands, 
who  were  by  us  appointed  as  our 
leaders  and  who  have  the  right  to  look 
to  us  for  obedience  and  support  in  this 
hour  of  our  country's  need,  have  led  us 
to  the  edge  of  the  battlefield.  From 
a  million  homes  have  gone  forth  the 
pick  and  flower  of  our  manhood,  and 
this  people,  in  whose  veins  flows  the 
blood  of  a  score  of  races,  again  stands 
ready  to  pour  forth  treasure  and 


254      PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

blood  and  life  itself  for  freedom  at  its 
country's  call. 

But  even  though  a  half  year  has 
gone  by  since  we  entered  into  the 
world-war,  its  horrors  have  not  been 
brought  home  to  us  as  to  our  brethren 
in  other  lands.  We  have  not  had  to 
watch  the  long  procession  of  stretcher- 
bearers  and  ambulance  trains  until  the 
moment  when  our  arms  would  close 
about  the  maimed  and  wounded  forms 
of  those  whom  we  love  as  part  of  our- 
selves; we  have  not  scanned  again  and 
again  the  lists  of  the  dead  and  the  miss- 
ing until  the  day  when,  with  our  eyes 
blinded  with  tears  and  our  hearts 
broken  with  sorrow,  we  found  there 
the  name  of  the  soldier  or  sailor-boy 
whom  the  voice  of  our  country  called 
from  our  side ;  we  have  not  yet  suffered 
the  pangs  of  hunger  or  heard  the  plaint 
of  our  babies  crying  for  milk.  Another 
year  may  bring  us  a  knowledge  of  some 
of  these  things.  But  because  we  have 
been  spared  where  others  were  stricken, 
because  our  daily  bread  has  been  given 
us  while  others  were  in  want,  have  we 
not  good  reason  to  show  ourselves 
grateful  to  God  Who  has  been  merciful 
to  us?  Ought  not  our  gratitude  show  it- 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS      255 

self  not  only  in  heartfelt  prayer  but 
also  in  generous  deeds? 

Surely,  nowhere  else  will  we  find  a 
more  beautiful,  a  more  Christlike 
example  to  imitate  than  our  Holy 
Father  himself.  From  the  first  moment 
he  took  up  the  heavy  burden  of  the 
Papacy,  he  has  labored  unceasingly  to 
bring  back  peace  and  sanity  to  the 
frenzied  nations  of  Europe.  He  has 
pleaded  for  the  weak,  the  sick,  the 
wounded,  nor  has  he  pleaded  in  vain. 
His  starving  and  destitute  children  in 
Poland,  in  Belgium,  in  Lithuania,  have 
stretched  forth  their  arms  to  him,  and 
he  has  heard  their  cry.  And  even 
though  poor  himself  and  with  his 
revenues  cut  off,  this  father  of  the  poor, 
this  comforter  of  the  afflicted  reached 
down  into  his  almost  empty  purse  to 
share  the  few  remaining  pence  with  the 
suffering  children  of  these  lands.  Is  not 
this  our  opportunity  too?  Can  we  find  a 
better  channel  to  dispense  our  charity 
to  our  suffering  brethren  in  Europe 
than  the  hands  of  our  common  father, 
Benedict  XV?  Can  we  find  a  more 
worthy,  a  better  fitted  dispenser  of  our 
alms  to  the  wounded,  the  hungering, 
the  homeless,  the  innocent  victims  of  a 


256      PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

great  catastrophe  than  the  spiritual 
sovereign  of  all? 

Let  us  be  generous  then,  on  this 
occasion,  to  our  Holy  Father  who  has 
shown  himself  so  extravagantly  gen- 
erous with  his  suffering  children 
plunged  in  the  throes  of  this  war.  Let 
us  help  him  bring  relief  and  still  the 
want  of  those  who  have  appealed  and 
even  now  are  crying  to  him,  as  their 
father,  for  help.  It  may  be  that 
the  Heavenly  Father  will  be  moved  by 
our  sacrifices  and  gifts,  and  in  return 
may  repay  our  generosity  to  His 
Vicar  on  earth  by  shortening  the 
pangs  and  horrors  of  this  war  and 
bringing  it  to  an  early,  a  peaceful, 
but  a  glorious  end. 

Faithfully  yours  in  Christ, 
^GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 

Archbishop  of  Chicago. 
All  Saints  Day,  1917. 


Pastoral  Letter  Prescribing-  a  Course  of  Doc- 
trinal Instruction  on  the  Apostles'  Creed 

Dearly  Beloved: 

Before  the  Lord  went  back  to 
Heaven,  He  made  provisions  to  continue 
His  work  on  earth.  For  that  purpose  He 
commissioned  His  Apostles.  The  com- 
mand He  gave  them  was  "Go  teach  all 
nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost:  teaching  them  to  observe 
all  things  whatsoever  I  have  com- 
manded you:  and  behold  I  am  with  you 
all  days,  even  to  the  consummation  of 
the  world."  (Math.  C.  28,  V.  19  &  20.) 
He  therefore  made  them,  first  of  all, 
teachers.  They  were  to  teach  others  all 
He  had  taught  them  during  the  years 
of  their  novitiate,  during  the  three 
years  they  had  spent  with  Him.  They 
were  to  teach  those  things  which  the 
Paraclete  was  to  teach  them,  "He"  (the 
Paraclete)  "will  teach  you  all  things 
and  He  will  bring  all  things  to  your 
mind  whatsoever  I  have  commanded 
you"  (John  C.  14,  V.  25)  is  the  promise 
given  by  Christ  on  the  eve  of  His  de- 
parture. It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  the 
principal  duty  imposed  by  Christ  upon 


258  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

His  Apostles  and  those  who  were  to 
succeed  them,  is  that  of  teaching  others 
the  truths  He  had  brought  from  heaven 
and  given  into  the  keeping  of  His 
Church  and  which  we  must  believe,  and 
to  explain  clearly  and  correctly  the 
laws  He  established  to  regulate  our 
conduct  if  we  would  be  saved.  For  we 
have  the  Divine  assurance  that  he  who 
believes  this  teaching  and  consents  to 
be  baptized  will  be  saved,  and  he  who 
rejects  this  teaching,  will  be  con- 
demned. 

Therefore,  if  there  is  the  obligation 
of  teaching  on  the  part  of  the  Apostles 
and  their  successors,  the  bishops  and 
priests  of  the  Church,  there  is  also  an 
obligation  of  hearing  and  learning  on 
the  part  of  the  great  body  of  the 
faithful.  And  the  lesson  we  may  learn 
from  the  experience  of  nations  as 
well  as  of  individuals  is,  that  the  better 
a  Catholic  is  instructed  in  his  faith,  the 
stronger  is  his  affection  for  it  and  the 
more  conscientiously  does  he  practice 
it.  For  this  very  purpose  have  our 
fathers  built  the  parochial  schools  so 
that  from  earliest  years,  their  children 
might  be  drilled  and  instructed  in  the 
truths  we  must  believe  and  the  laws  we 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  259 

must  obey,  if  we  wish  to  save  our  souls. 
But,  as  the  years  pass  by  and  we  grow 
older,  we  are  apt  to  forget  some  of 
those  great  truths  taught  us  in  child- 
hood unless  they  are  sometimes  re- 
called to  our  minds.  The  remembrance 
of  God's  laws,  first  published  on  Sinai's 
Mount,  may  become  faint  unless  they 
are  recited  for  us  occasionally  again. 
The  penalties  for  their  transgression 
may  become  less  terrifying  and  there- 
fore less  effective,  unless  we  are  re- 
minded of  them  from  time  to  time. 

Now,  all  of  this  is  best  accomplished 
by  frequent,  short,  doctrinal  discourses, 
called  catechetical  instructions.  In 
order,  therefore,  to  bring  about  a  better 
understanding  of  the  truths  of  our 
Holy  Faith,  to  promote  the  greater 
spiritual  good  of  our  people,  to  fulfill  in 
a  more  uniform,  practical,  and  efficient 
manner  the  mission  of  our  clergy  as 
teachers,  we  propose  to  institute  a 
regular  course  of  catechetical  instruc- 
tions, so  arranged  throughout  the  year 
according  to  time  and  matter  that  the 
same  doctrine  of  our  Faith  will  be  ex- 
plained on  the  same  Sunday  in  every 
church  of  our  diocese.  This  method 
will  prove  to  be  helpful,  uniform  and 


260 


consistent  for  both  clergy  and  people. 
Such  a  course  of  catechetical  instruc- 
tions at  the  low  masses  on  Sundays  was 
strongly  recommended  by  Pope  Pius 
X,  of  blessed  memory,  who  in  his 
encyclical  letter  "De  Christiana  Doc- 
trina  Tradenda"  of  April  15,  1905, 
writes: 

"Since  in  these  days,  adults  not  less 
than  the  young  stand  in  need  of 
religious  instruction,  all  parish  priests 
and  others  having  the  care  of  souls, 
shall  in  addition  to  the  usual  homily  on 
the  Gospel  delivered  at  the  parochial 
Mass  on  all  days  of  obligation,  explain 
the  Catechism  for  the  faithful  in  an 
easy  style,  suitable  to  the  intelligence  of 
their  hearers,  at  such  a  time  of  day  as 
they  may  deem  most  convenient  for  the 
people,  but  not  during  the  hour  in 
which  the  children  are  taught.  In  this 
instruction  they  shall  make  use  of  the 
Catechism  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  and 
shall  divide  the  matter  in  such  a  way 
as  to  treat,  within  the  space  of  four  or 
five  years,  the  Apostles'  Creed,  the 
Sacraments,  the  Decalogue,  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  the  Precepts  of  the 
Church. 

"This  We  do,  Venerable  Brethren, 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  261 

PRESCRIBE   AND    COMMAND    by 

virtue  of  our  Apostolic  Authority." 

Moreover,  we  feel  that  it  cannot  be 
too  often  repeated  or  too  strongly  im- 
pressed on  our  people  that  our  greatest 
need  today  is  a  well-instructed,  watch- 
ful, active  Catholic  laity.  This  is  the 
day  and  the  hour  of  the  layman's 
apostolate.  No  nation  ever  held  a  larger 
proportion  of  non-Catholics,  groping 
in  darkness,  searching  for  truth, 
well-disposed  towards  the  Church  and 
its  children.  For  them,  for  their  eternal 
salvation,  for  the  spread  of  God's 
Kingdom,  we  must  be  willing,  we  must 
be  ready  to  lend  every  assistance.  And 
we  can  only  do  so  if  our  people  are 
thoroughly  instructed  in  our  Faith  and 
know  well  its  teachings. 

Finally,  at  no  time  were  we  more 
in  need  of  the  anchor  that  a  good 
knowledge  of  God's  laws  gives  to  us  to 
hold  us  steady  amid  the  wind  and  the 
waves  of  temptation  and  to  save  us  lest 
we  perish,  than  just  now.  In  these  days 
when  every  appeal  is  being  made  to  the 
senses;  when  so  many  avenues  of  in- 
struction and  recreation  are  changed 
into  pathways  that  lead  to  error  and  to 
ruin;  when  openly  and  shamelessly 


262      PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

pernicious  doctrines  that  propose 
license  for  liberty,  unsound  science  for 
Christian  Faith,  and  sinful  indulgence 
for  virtuous  living  are  published  broad- 
cast; when  money,  success,  and 
pleasure  are  the  gods  of  our  modern 
pagan  world,  our  people  need  all 
the  old-fashioned  Catholic  doctrine 
they  can  get,  to  save  them  from  mis- 
taking the  correct  viewpoint  and  thus 
forever  losing  their  immortal  souls. 

And  so,  with  the  first  Sunday  of 
Advent  we  will  begin  the  first  year  of 
our  Catechetical  instructions,  the  sub- 
ject for  this  first  year  being  the  pro- 
fession of  our  Faith  as  contained  in  the 
articles  of  the  Apostles'  Creed.  They 
will  be  just  plain,  simple,  ordinary 
instructions,  at  the  low  masses,  Sunday 
after  Sunday,  for  at  most  ten  minutes, 
of  the  catechism  our  children  study  in 
the  school.  But  let  us  not  forget,  the 
little  catechism  is  the  synopsis  of  the 
priests'  theology,  it  is  the  condensed 
form  of  the  dogmas  of  the  Church,  it 
is  the  textbook  of  our  religion.  If  a  phy- 
sician never  glances  at  his  medical 
textbooks,  he  will  surely  lapse  into 
more  than  one  error;  if  a  lawyer 
neglects  his  lawbooks,  he  will  become 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  263 

forgetful  of  the  law ;  if  a  Catholic  never 
goes  back  to  his  catechism,  there  is 
more  than  a  chance  that  he  will  "become 
careless  in  his  faith. 

Faithfully  yours  in  Christ, 
^GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 

Archbishop  of  Chicago. 
Feast  of  St.  Andrew,  1917. 


Pastoral  Letter  Prescribing  a  Course  of  Doc- 
trinal Instruction  on  the  Decalogue 

Dearly  Beloved: 

During  the  year  that  has  just 
elapsed,  you  listened  Sunday  after  Sun- 
day to  the  exposition,  the  definition 
and  the  explanation  of  those  revealed 
truths  contained  in  that  brief  and  com- 
pact profession  of  our  Faith  which  we 
call  the  Apostles'  Creed.  In  these  short 
Sunday  sermons,  condensed  into  the 
short  space  of  ten  minutes  or  less,  we 
revived  and  supplemented  the  catecheti- 
cal instructions  you  received  as 
children,  we  studied  more  closely  the 
truths  Christ  brought  from  heaven, 
and  we  explained  to  your  now  more 
matured  minds  the  doctrines  to  which 
we  must  firmly  adhere  and  in  which' 
we  must  believe,  if  we  would  save  our 
souls. 

But  we  know  that  our  obligation 
does  not  end  there.  God  demands  more 
of  us  than  mere  belief.  The  Apostle  tells 
us  "Faith  without  works  is  dead"  (Epist. 
S.  James  II,  26).  God  wants  of  us 
service,  and  He  has  made  known  to  us 
what  is  the  exact  extent  of  that 
service  He  demands  of  us.  He  regulates 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS      265 

it  for  us.  Christ  has  not  only  revealed 
to  us  His  doctrines ;  He  has  defined  His 
laws.  And  these  laws  are  embodied 
almost  entirely  in  the  Decalogue, 
which  God  gave  to  Moses  on  Sinaf s 
Mount,  and  which  Christ  came  on  earth 
"not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill"  (Matth. 
V.  17).  And  that  Church  which  He 
founded,  and  which  He  has  commis- 
sioned to  teach  mankind  the  sacred 
truths  of  the  gospel,  is  the  same  cus- 
todian and  interpreter  to  whom  He 
has  entrusted  the  explanation  of  His 
moral  code.  He  has  not  left  His  Com- 
mandments to  the  mercy  of  any  and 
every  man's  interpretation,  but  that 
Church  which  He  constituted  the  in- 
fallible teaching  agency  and  commis- 
sioned "to  teach  all  nations,"  He  also 
made  the  highest  tribunal  to  construe 
and  define  the  laws  He  laid  down, 
"teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you" 
(Matth.  XXVIII,  20). 

And  so,  with  the  opening  of  a  new 
ecclesiastical  year,  we  begin  the  second 
course  of  catechetical  instructions,  in- 
augurated last  year  for  the  low  masses 
on  Sundays  in  all  the  churches  of  this 
Archdiocese.  The  subject  matter  of  the 


266  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

instructions  this  year  will  be  the  Ten 
Commandments  of  God,  as  well  as  the 
Precepts  of  the  Church.  And  as  the 
course  of  instruction  progresses 
during  the  year,  the  plan  of  legislation 
outlining,  defining  and  regulating  our 
relations  towards  God,  our  neighbors 
and  ourselves,  as  contained  in  God's 
commandments,  will  become  apparent. 
The  instructions  will  make  clear  to  us 
how  these  Ten  Commandments,  some- 
times called  "The  Decalogue,"  were  first 
given  by  God  to  Moses  on  Mount  Sinai, 
and  later  when  Christ  came,  these  same 
commandments  were  retained  by  Him. 
He  did  not  add  to  their  number  nor  did 
He  detract  therefrom,  but  He  did 
broaden  their  scope  so  as  to  add  an  in- 
terior observance,  as  we  can  readily  see 
from  the  reading  of  the  Gospels 
(Matth.  C.  V.).  We  will  see  how  in  the 
old  law  the  first  three  commandments 
regulated  man's  relations  with  his 
Creator,  the  other  seven,  his  relations 
with  his  neighbor;  but  in  the  new  law 
the  Divine  Lawgiver  included  in  them 
the  curb  he  has  placed  on  our  thoughts 
and  desires,  the  restraint  He  has  put 
on  our  irregular  appetites.  In  this  way 
He  has  perfected  the  law. 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  267 

It  is  required  of  a  confessor  that  he 
have  a  competent  knowledge  of  the 
divine  law,  that  he  be  instructed 
thoroughly  and  grounded  deeply  in  the 
many  obligations  that  come  under 
these  three  heads  of  man's  relations 
toward  God,  his  neighbor,  himself.  To 
acquire  this  knowledge  takes  years  of 
preparation  and  closest  application  to 
study.  The  fund  of  knowledge  he  thus 
obtains  is  mainly  intended  for  and 
principally  used  by  him  in  the  con- 
fessional, where  he  sits  in  judment  on 
the  penitent  sinner,  who  is  there  both 
the  accuser  and  the  accused,  the 
witness  as  well  as  the  culprit,  the 
attorney  for  the  defense  as  well  as  the 
confessed  lawbreaker.  As  the  judge  in 
the  sacred  tribunal,  wielding  a  tre- 
mendous power,  his  decision  is  often 
fraught  with  far-reaching  conse- 
quences, and  for  that  reason  he  must 
have  just  as  thorough  a  knowledge  of 
God's  law  as  the  judge  who  sits  in  the 
courts  of  men  must  have  of  the  civil  law. 
And  for  that  same  reason  may  we  not 
also  claim  that  the  faithful,  who  week 
after  week  and  month  after  month  ap- 
proach the  tribunal  of  penance  not  only 
to  be  relieved  of  the  weight  of  sin,  but 


268      PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

also  to  receive  the  graces  and  helps  at- 
tached to  the  sacrament,  should  possess 
a  more  than  fragmentary  knowledge  of 
the  moral  law,  as  contained  in  God's 
commandments,  and  of  His  Church's 
precepts?  An  attorney  would  be  of  but 
little  service  to  his  client  in  court  if  he 
had  only  a  superficial  knowledge  of  the 
law,  and  the  penitent  himself  is  the 
counsel  of  his  soul  before  that  earthly 
bar  of  eternal  justice  where  the  priest 
commissioned  by  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God,  remits  or  retains  sins  in  the 
Sacrament  of  Penance,  and  where  he 
must  plead  his  own  case  in  justice  and 
in  truth.  It  is  for  that  reason  that  a 
better,  a  more  extensive  and  a  more 
thorough  knowledge  of  what  is  com- 
manded and  what  is  forbidden  by  the 
Ten  Commandments  of  God  will  prove 
of  great  benefit  to  the  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  our  people  who  during  the 
coming  year  will  listen  to  the  instruc- 
tions as  outlined  for  the  low  masses  on 
Sundays  in  the  various  churches  of  this 
Archdiocese.  For  it  is  then  that  the 
priest  will  explain,  in  slightly  abridged 
form,  what  he  himself  studied  during 
the  years  of  preparation  for  his  sacred 
ministry  in  the  Theological  Seminary. 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  269' 

But  a  reason  more  powerful  still  is 
presented  by  the  solicitude  a  bishop 
and  his  priests  should  have  for  the 
welfare  of  the  souls  entrusted  to  their 
care.  The  experience  of  many  centuries 
has  shown  us  that  the  better  a  people 
are  instructed  in  the  laws  and  com- 
mandments of  God,  the  more  observant 
they  are  of  them;  the  oftener  and  the 
more  carefully  the  laws  of  God  are  ex- 
plained to  them,  first  in  school  and  later 
from  time  to  time  from  the  altar  and 
the  pulpit,  the  deeper  and  more  lasting 
are  these  engraved  on  their  hearts  and 
the  more  vividly  do  they  rise  before 
their  consciences. 

Finally,  I  venture  to  say,  judging 
from  my  own  experience,  that  no  series, 
of  instructions  will  prove  so  interesting 
to  the  people.  If  the  instructions  are 
carefully  prepared  and  condensed,  so 
as  to  be  delivered  in  a  short  period  of 
from  five  to  ten  minutes,  they  will 
prove  a  delight  and  a  constant  source  of 
information  to  both  the  priest  who 
has  prepared  them  and  to  the  faithful 
who  listen  to  them. 

In  the  present  disturbed  condition  in 
which  the  civilized  world  is  plunged, 
there  are  offered  to  us  cures  and 


270  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

nostrums  and  untried  theories  of  every 
kind.  How  simple  is  the  real  remedy.  If 
the  commandments  of  God  as  taught 
by  Christ  and  interpreted  by  His 
Church  were  observed  by  rulers  and 
their  subjects,  how  complete  and  how 
salutary  would  be  the  change.  Again 
would  sanity  and  moderation  return 
and  peace  and  tranquillity  reign  every- 
where in  the  world.  For  who  can  deny 
that  it  is  the  violation  of  God's  com- 
mandments, the  lust  of  possession  of 
the  lands  and  territories  of  others  that 
have  created  the  vast  standing  armies ; 
that  the  stealing  away  of  another's  life 
or  property  has  built  up  the  strong 
prison  walls;  that  it  is  the  spirit  of  hate 
and  strife  and  discord  that  crowds  our 
courtrooms  with  disputants  and  their 
litigation.  But  if  we  had  a  proper  un- 
derstanding of  God's  commandments 
and  a  salutary  fear  of  His  judgments 
and  a  vivid  dread  of  eternal  punish- 
ment, less  and  less  would  we  be  guilty 
of  wrong-doing,  happier  and  more 
peaceful  would  be  our  dealings  with 
our  neighbor,  closer  and  surer  would 
be  our  approach  to  God.  And  it  is  our 
hope  and  our  prayer  that  the  course  of 
instructions  we  begin  to-day  will  in 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  271 

some  small  measure  help  to  bring  that 
about  with  the  people  committed  by 
God  to  our  care,  for  the  better  we  know 
His  wishes,  the  more  faithfully  we  will 
obey  them,  and  naturally  the  more  we 
will  love  Him.  We  have  His  own 
words,  "If  you  love  Me,  keep  My  com- 
mandments" (John  XIV,  15). 

Sincerely  yours  in  Christ, 
*GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 

Archbishop  of  Chicago. 
Feast  of  St.  Catharine,  1917. 


Letter  Appointing  a  General  Spiritual  Director 
for  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 

Chicago,  111.,  Jan.  1, 1917. 
The  Rev.  Edward  F.  Rice, 
St.  Joseph's  Home  for  the  Friendless, 
739  E.  Thirty-fifth  St.,  Chicago,  111. 

My  Dear  Father  Rice: 

I  appoint  you  herewith  Spiritual  Di- 
rector of  the  Metropolitan  Council  of 
the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  in 
the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago,  to  succeed 
Rt  Rev.  Mons.  A.  J.  Thiele.  At  the 
same  time,  I  detach  you  from  all  paro- 
chial work,  that  you  may  give  all  your 
time  and  energy  to  extending  and  up- 
building the  work  of  relief  among  the 
poor,  distressed  and  unfortunate  in 
this  great  city.  You  will  reside  at  the 
St.  Joseph's  Home  for  the  Friendless, 
where  you  will  act  as  Chaplain  to  the 
Sisters  and  their  charges,  and  you  will 
make  the  Central  Office  of  the  St.  Vin- 
cent de  Paul  Society,  8  S.  Dearborn  St., 
Chicago,  your  headquarters,  from 
which  you  will  direct  the  entire  work. 

To  assist  you  in  making  this  charita- 
ble work  as  effective  and  far-reaching 
as  possible,  it  will  be  necessary  for  you 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  273 

to  further  develop  its  scope,  increase 
its  revenues  and  systematize  the  meth- 
ods of  bringing  relief.  To  assist  you 
successfully  to  carry  on  this  important 
work,  I  would  propose  the  following 
points : 

1)  That  a  Parish  Conference  of  St, 
Vincent  de  Paul  be  established  in  every 
parish  of  the  city,  and  even  of  the  dio- 
cese, wherever  it  is  possible.  I  have 
never  yet  found  a  city  parish  in  which 
there  were  no  poor,  no  distress  to  be 
relieved.  In  fact,  in  the  so-called  richer 
parishes  I  have  found  poverty  of  the 
more  pitiable  kind,  where  people  who 
once  were  comfortable  "had  come  down 
in  the  world"  and  were  trying  to  hide 
their  abject  poverty  from  the  eyes  of 
their  neighbors  by  feeble  attempts  of 
keeping  up  pretenses.  It  is  in  cases 
such  as  these  that  you  need  a  charita- 
ble, kind-hearted  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
man,  rather  than  a  cold,  professional, 
statistical  paid  agent  of  public  philan- 
thropy. But,  even  if  there  be  no  real 
poverty  to  be  relieved  in  the  parish,  a 
local  Conference  will  do  two  things: 
First,  its  surplus  income  will  be  badly 
needed  either  by  a  sister  Conference  in 
a  poorer  section  of  the  city  or  by  the 


274  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

many  calls  at  the  Central  Office  for  the 
relief  of  all  kinds  of  distress. 

2)  At  the  suggestion  of  some  of  our 
priests,  I  would  propose  that  you  form 
a  separate  Conference  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul  among  the  clergy  of  the  diocese, 
with  two  classes  of  members — one  of 
life  members,  by  payment  of  a  certain 
sum,  and  the  other  annual  members, 
paying  an  annual  fee,  say,  of  ten  dol- 
lars.  I  will  be  pleased  if  you  will  enroll 
me  as  the  first  life  member  of  this 
Conference,  and  I  know  that  the  Vicars 
and  officials  of  the  diocese  are  also  de- 
sirous   of    becoming    members.     The 
money  received  from  such  dues  could  be 
used  for  some  specific  charity,  as  may 
later  be  determined. 

3)  I  would  suggest  that  you  arrange 
a  similar  annual  subscription  list  among 
the   business   men   and   Catholics   of 
means  of  both  sexes  in  Chicago,  each 
one  contributing  annually  such  sum  as 
he  or  she  may  determine,  in  return  for 
which  you  will  take  care  through  the 
Central  Office  and  the  local  Conferences 
of  the  various  appeals  that  may  come 
to  them  in  person  or  by  letter;  in  a 
word,  that  you  will  dispense  their  char- 
ity for  them.   I  know  that  there  is  both 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS      275 

a  need  and  a  desire  for  a  satisfactory 
arrangement  of  this  kind  among  our 
people  of  means  or  engaged  in  business 
of  their  own.  I  believe  you  will  find  the 
majority  of  them  recognizing  the  fact 
that  they  have  a  duty  of  helping  those 
less  fortunate  than  themselves.  Even 
among  our  non-Catholic  brethren  there 
is  a  growing  conviction,  that  becomes 
more  marked  daily,  that  they  must  de- 
vote some  portion  of  their  profits  to  the 
care  of  the  poor,  the  sick,  the  unfortu- 
nate. As  a  result,  we  as  a  people  are 
becoming  more  generous  to  various 
charities  and  works  of  relief.  In  this 
respect,  at  least,  public  conscience  is 
improving.  And,  besides,  when  they 
have  the  assurance  that  the  recipients 
of  their  charity  are  worthy  and  that  the 
relief  is  applied  with  a  minimum  of  ex- 
pense and  largely  by  volunteer  agents 
animated  by  the  pure  motives  of  Chris- 
tian charity,  then  they  can  indeed  ex- 
perience the  satisfaction  which  the  Sa- 
vior meant  when  He  said,  "It  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive."  There- 
fore, when  you  see  men  who  have  ac- 
cumulated some  substance,  whom  the 
Lord  has  blessed  with  the  goods  of  this 
world,  and  even  those  who  have  been 


276  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

but  moderately  successful,  tell  them 
that  I  send  you  to  them  as  the  apostle 
of  the  poor,  as  the  disciple  of  SJ.  Vin- 
cent de  Paul.  Tell  them  that  you  dare 
not  take  no  for  an  answer.  There  may 
be  a  difference  between  what  you  think 
they  might  give  and  what  they  think 
they  ought  to  give,  but  I  would  not  have 
you  leave  their  door  with  a  refusal  for 
your  portion;  for  then  perhaps  good 
fortune  and  God's  blessing  might  go 
with  you.  They  may  sometimes  have  a 
reason  for  not  contributing  to  a  work  of 
patriotism,  of  education,  even  of  reli- 
gion, but  they  should  not — and  I  hope 
they  will  not — refuse  one  who  asks  them 
for  an  alms,  not  for  himself,  but  for  the 
poor.  In  order  to  encourage  you  on 
your  mission  and  exhort  my  people  in 
deed  as  well  as  by  word,  I  will  become 
your  first  subscriber  for  one  thousand 
dollars  each  year  until  my  death. 

And  now  I  send  you  forth  with  God's 
blessing  and  my  own  on  your  new  field 
of  labor.  No  man  ever  had  a  more  glo- 
rious mission,  for  you  go  to  preach  the 
gospel  of  charity,  to  extend  and  build 
up  the  real  layman's  apostolate,  the 
avenue  by  which  thousands  of  our  good 
Catholic  men  give  of  their  time,  their 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS      277 

endeavor  and  their  hard-earned  wages 
in  the  practice  of  the  corporal  and 
spiritual  works  of  mercy.  Be  to  them 
a  real  leader,  a  prudent  advisor,  a  zeal- 
ous co-worker.  Be  the  almoner  of  the 
rich  and  the  provider  of  the  poor,  and 
make  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society 
one  of  the  monuments  and  one  of  the 
glories  of  the  Church  of  Chicago,  and 
you  may  be  the  means  of  bringing  many 
souls  to  the  Kingdom  of  the  Blessed  to 
whom  the  Lord  will  say,  "I  was  hungry 
and  you  gave  me  to  eat,  thirsty  and 
you  gave  me  to  drink,  I  was  naked  and 
you  clothed  me,  I  was  in  prison  and  you 
visited  me,  I  was  a  stranger  and  you 
took  me  in." 

Sincerely  yours  in  Christ, 
^GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 
Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


Letter  of  Appeal  for  Aid  to  the  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul  Society 

Chicago,  111.,  Sept.  15,  1917. 

The  Rev.  Edward  F.  Rice, 
Particular  Council, 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society, 
1318  Hartford  Bldg., 
8  S.  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago,  111. 

My  Dear  Father  Rice; 

In  the  midst  of  all  the  confusion  inci- 
dent to  the  war  in  which  our  country 
is  engaged,  and  the  many  appeals  for 
help  coming  from  various  sources  be- 
cause of  it,  we  must  not  lose  sight  of 
our  charities  at  home,  nor  let  our  peo- 
ple forget  those  who  are  left  behind 
and  also  suffer. 

During  the  winter  that  is  now  ap- 
proaching, if  we  may  judge  from  de- 
mands that  are  even  now  being  made 
upon  us,  there  is  likely  to  be  increased 
suffering  and  privation.  In  hundreds 
of  cases  the  principal  provider  of  the 
family  has  been  called  to  the  colors  and 
as  a  result  the  weekly  income  of  the 
family  has  shrunk  considerably,  while 
the  cost  of  food  and  necessities  of  life 
have  steadily  risen  and  threaten  to  be- 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  279 

come  dearer  and  less  obtainable  for  the 
families  of  the  poor.  Moreover,  those 
who  are  not  thus  affected  are  not  such 
as  have  asked  for  help  in  the  past  and 
will  necessarily  shrink  from  making 
any  appeal  to  any  public  philanthropic 
agency  in  the  future.  In  addition,  we 
have  found  that,  due  to  some  extent  to 
the  unsettled  conditions  of  the  times 
and  also  to  the  above  causes,  desertion 
and  consequent  dependency  is  growing 
in  the  poorer  sections  of  our  city,  and 
we  anticipate  that  the  capacity  of  our 
charitable  institutions  and  agencies 
will  be  taxed  to  their  utmost,  whereas 
the  contributions  for  the  support  of  the 
same  are  falling  below  their  usual  av- 
erage. 

Under  the  circumstances,  because  of 
the  duty  of  the  Bishop  as  shepherd  of 
the  entire  flock  of  Christ,  and  particu- 
larly as  protector  and  father  of  the 
poor,  the  orphaned  and  the  fatherless, 
I  am  directing  this  appeal,  through 
you,  the  diocesan  spiritual  director  of 
the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society,  to  the 
heads  of  the  various  Catholic  Women's 
Clubs  in  the  city  and  their  members, 
that  they  may  devote  their  energies  and 
their  charity  at  this  time  to  the  care  of 


280  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

the  poor  in  their  homes.  It  is  my  wish 
that  they  help  tlieir  Church,  their  coun- 
try and  their  less  fortunate  sisters  at 
this  time  by  applying  that  love  and  sym- 
pathy that  God  has  placed  in  the  wom- 
an's breast  especially  to  the  care  of  the 
wives,  the  widows  and  the  children  in 
their  homes,  that  the  little  families  may 
be  held  together  and  the  sacred  ties  of 
family  be  not  sundered  or  the  little 
ones  deprived  needlessly  of  a  mother's 
loving  and  sheltering  care.  In  order 
that  they  may  be  inspired  to  do  this 
with  deeper  religious  and  charitable 
spirit  and  that  they  may  be  strength- 
ened and  repaid  by  that  Christ-given 
promise  to  those  who  help  His  little 
ones,  I  authorize  you  to  enroll  them  in 
the  ranks  of  the  Vincentians,  so  that, 
without  losing  their  own  identity  or 
the  purposes  for  which  our  Catholic 
Women's  Clubs  were  founded,  they  may 
at  the  same  time  be  numbered  among 
the  Women  Auxiliaries  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul.  Surely  nothing  will  so  appeal 
to  the  highest  and  best  in  them,  our 
Catholic  daughters,  wives  and  mothers, 
as  to  help  those  of  their  own  sex,  their 
own  faith  and  their  own  city,  the  poor 
women  and  children  in  their  own  little 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  281 

family  circle,  to  keep  together  all  that 
they  hold  dearest  and  most  sacred  on 
earth. 

To  all  who  co-operate  with  you  in 
this  work  I  send  my  own  blessing  and 
to  them  I  hold  out  as  an  inducement  the 
Lord's  own  words,  "Even  a  cup  of  cold 
water  given  in  My  name  shall  have  its 
reward." 

Sincerely  yours  in  Christ, 

^GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 
Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


Letter  in  Favor  of  the  Work  for  Deaf  Mutes 
Chicago,  111.,  March  8, 1917. 

The  Rev.  P.  J.  Mahan,  S.J., 
St.  Ignatius  College, 
1076  W.  Twelfth  St.,  Chicago,  111. 

My  Dear  Father  Mohan: 

I  beg  to  acknowledge  herewith  the 
receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  3d  inst, 
the  contents  of  which  I  have  read  with 
a  great  deal  of  interest.  I  am  glad  to 
see  that  the  Catholic  deaf  mutes  have 
so  courageously  taken  hold  of  the  prop- 
osition to  build  a  little  mission  house 
for  themselves  on  the  lots  which  have 
been  donated  for  that  purpose.  I  feel 
sure  that  if  they  continue  as  enthusias- 
tically as  they  began  it  will  not  be  long 
before  they  will  be  able  to  make  a  begin- 
ning, and  even  in  less  time  than  you  per- 
haps anticipate.  Of  course  you  realize 
that  I  have  many  calls  on  me,  particu- 
larly at  the  present  time,  when  we  are 
faced  with  so  grievous  a  situation  as 
that  of  the  orphan  children  for  whom 
the  diocese  must  now  care.  However, 
I  do  not  want  the  Catholic  deaf  mutes 
here  in  this  town  to  feel  that  we  have 
not  their  interest  deeply  at  heart. 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  283 

In  order  to  encourage  them,  there- 
fore, in  the  good  work  in  which  they  are 
engaged,  you  may  inform  them,  at  their 
next  meeting,  that  I  will  personally  sub- 
scribe one  thousand  dollars  toward 
their  building  fund,  the  same  to  be 
made  payable  to  them  as  soon  as  they 
have  ten  thousand  dollars  in  hand.  I 
am  sure  that  this  little  donation  will 
spur  them  on  and  will  arouse  in  them 
and  in  you  an  enthusiasm  for  this  work 
and  may  also  be  the  means  of  their  ob- 
taining donations  elsewhere,  so  that 
soon  they  will  have  a  little  building  of 
which  they  may  well  be  proud. 

Sending  to  them  all  and  to  you  my 
blessing,  and  with  every  good  wish,  I 
beg  to  remain,  dear  Father  Mahan, 

Sincerely  yours  in  Christ, 

^GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 
Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


Letter  in  Favor  of  the  Work  of  the  Red  Cross 
Chicago,  111.,  April  30, 1917. 

Mr.  Charles  H.  Wacker, 
Citizens'  Committee, 
American  Red  Cross, 
529  Monroe  Building,  Chicago,  111. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Wacker: 

I  beg  to  inform  you  herewith  of  my 
acceptance  of  membership  in  the  Amer- 
ican Red  Cross  Society,  Chicago  Chap- 
ter, as  requested  by  you.  I  have  ac- 
cepted appointment  to  but  very  few 
committees  during  my  time  in  this  city, 
but  I  feel  it  would  be  a  neglect  of  civic 
duty  if  I  did  not  associate  myself  with 
the  Red  Cross  Society,  particularly  at 
this  time.  In  a  time  of  national  crisis, 
every  citizen  must  be  ready  to  do  his 
share,  either  to  serve  the  country  or  to 
help  relieve  those  who  must  serve  in  the 
field.  That  is  an  obligation  that  is  laid 
upon  us  by  reason  of  the  many  benefits 
we  have  received  in  this  wonderful 
country  of  which  we  are  citizens. 

I  shall  be  glad,  therefore,  to  co-oper- 
ate with  you  and  to  instruct  and  direct 
others  under  me  to  co-operate  with  the 
work  of  the  Red  Cross,  particularly  in 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  285 

the  line  of  bringing  relief  to  the  families 
of  those  who  serve  in  the  army  and 
navy  or  those  who  may  return  wounded 
and  disabled  from  the  battlefield.  At 
the  same  time,  I  wish  you  and  those  who 
work  with  you  every  success  in  your 
most  laudable  endeavor  to  place  Chi- 
cago at  the  head  of  the  American  cities. 
I  am  sure  you  will  find  that  our  city 
will  rise  to  the  occasion,  as  Chicago,  if 
she  is  anything,  is  certainly  patriotic. 
I  beg  to  remain,  my  dear  Mr.  Wacker, 

"Sincerely  yours, 

^GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 
Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


Second  Letter  in  Favor  of  the  Work  of  the  Red 
Cross 

Chicago,  EL,  May  19, 1917. 

Mr.  Charles  H.  Wacker, 
Citizens'  Committee, 
American  Red  Cross, 
529  Monroe  Building,  Chicago,  111. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Wacker: 

There  are  one  thousand  little  orphan 
boys  and  girls  in  St.  Mary's  Training 
School  at  DesPlaines  who  are  very  anx- 
ious to  do  something  for  their  country, 
now  that  their  country  is  at  war.  They 
are  too  young  to  be  soldiers  or  sailors  in 
the  army  and  navy  or  nurses  to  care  for 
the  wounded,  and  so  they  want  to  be- 
come members  of  the  Red  Cross  Socie- 
ty. But  they  are  orphans,  and  they 
have  no  money.  So  they  asked  me  to 
advance  the  money  to  them,  every  one 
a  dollar,  and  maybe  later,  when  they 
have  grown  up  and  become  men  and 
women  and  have  money  of  their  own, 
they  can  pay  it  back.  Now,  Mr.  Wack- 
er, you  have  had  children  of  your  own, 
and  you  know  you  should  never  refuse 
help  to  a  child  when  it  wants  to  do 
something  for  God  or  country.  So  I 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  287 

send  you  herewith  their  names  to  be 
added  to  the  growing  list  of  Red  Cross 
members  of  the  Chicago  Chapter  and 
my  personal  check  to  pay  for  their  dues 
as  annual  members. 

Wishing  you  every  success,  I  beg  to 
remain,  dear  Mr.  Wacker, 

Sincerely  yours, 

^GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 
Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


Letter  in  Favor  of  the  Liberty  Loan 
Chicago,  111.,  May  29,  1917. 

Mr.  Charles  W.  Folds,  Chairman, 
Liberty  Loan  Committee, 
208  S.  LaSalle  St.,  Chicago,  111. 

My  Dear  Sir: 

Mr.  Richmond  Dean  called  on  me  yes- 
terday in  order  to  learn  what,  if  any, 
measures  could  be  taken  to  enlist  the 
sympathies  of  the  Catholic  Clergy  in 
bringing  before  their  congregations  the 
desirability  of  investing  in  the  new  Lib- 
erty Loan  by  the  members  of  their  con- 
gregations. At  the  conclusion  of  my 
conversation  with  him,  he  asked  me  if 
I  would  not  embody  in  a  short  letter  the 
information  that  I  had  given  him. 

I  told  him  that  we  were  prepared  not 
only  to  speak  well  of  the  new  Liberty 
Loan,  but  that  I  felt  that  the  Catholic 
Church  here  in  Chicago  owed  a  much 
more  active  co-operation  with  the  gov- 
ernment under  the  present  circum- 
stances than  any  mere  advertisement 
from  the  pulpit  that  they  could  give  in 
this  matter.  In  consequence,  at  a  meet- 
ing of  the  clergy  of  the  diocese  held  here 
today,  I  informed  them  that  the  Arch- 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS      289 

bishop  himself  would  take  a  large  block 
of  the  bonds  and  would  at  once  sub- 
scribe for  ten  thousand  dollars  worth 
of  bonds  as  the  first  installment.  Sec- 
ondly, there  are  three  hundred  and  fif- 
ty parishes  here  in  this  diocese,  and  the 
pastor  of  each  parish  was  instructed  to 
invest  at  least  one  hundred  dollars  or 
more  of  the  parish  money  in  the  new 
loan,  so  that  every  Catholic  parish  in 
Chicago,  no  matter  what  the  national- 
ity may  be,  would  take  an  active  co- 
operation in  the  floating  of  this  new  war 
loan.  They  were  instructed,  if  any 
parish  were  so  poor  that  it  did  not  have 
a  hundred  dollar  fund,  that  the  priest 
was  to  borrow  that  amount,  and  if  later 
on  it  was  found  necessary  to  dispose  of 
the  bonds  at  any  time  that  the  Arch- 
bishop would  take  them  up  and  pay  for 
them  at  the  same  price  at  which  they 
had  been  procured.  Thirdly,  in  order 
to  encourage  the  helping  of  the  nation 
at  the  present  time,  as  well  as  the  giving 
in  charity,  it  was  announced  that  the 
Archbishop  would  accept  donations  for 
diocesan  charities  or  religious  purposes, 
such,  for  instance,  as  Scholarships  to 
the  Preparatory  Seminary,  in  the  form 
of  Liberty  Bonds  in  preference  to  cash, 


and  that  he  would  accept  the  bonds  at 
a  figure  of  102,  remitting  to  the  donor 
or  placing  to  his  credit  $20  for  every 
$1,000  given  in  this  form.  Every  pastor 
was  furnished  with  a  blank  form  of  ap- 
plication which  he  was  to  fill  out  and 
deposit  with  the  bank  that  he  does  bus- 
iness with,  any  time  within  the  next 
week  or  ten  days. 

I  might  add  that  the  purpose  of  this 
is  to  show  the  people  of  Chicago,  and 
especially  our  Catholic  people,  that  the 
Church  feels  it  a  positive  duty  at  this 
time  to  aid  the  nation  in  every  way  that 
it  possibly  can  in  return  for  the  peace 
and  the  liberty  that  the  Church  has  al- 
ways enjoyed  in  these  United  States. 
And  I  say  this  in  no  spirit  of  boasting, 
but  simply  in  order  to  carry  out  the 
pledge  that  I  made  when  our  nation  first 
entered  this  war,  that  we  will  lend  every 
aid,  every  encouragement  and  every  as- 
sistance to  our  country  at  a  time  when 
our  country  needs  us. 

I  beg  to  remain, 

Very  truly  yours, 

^GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 
Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


Letter  in  Favor  of  the  Negro  Parish  of  St. 
Monica,  Chicago 

Chicago,  111.,  Oct.  26,  1917. 

Very  Rev.  J.  A.  Burgmer,  S.V.D., 
Provincial, 

St.  Mary's  Mission  House, 
Techny,  111. 

My  Dear  Father  Burgmer: 

I  am  confiding  to  your  care  and  that 
of  your  Fathers  the  Mission  of  St. 
Monica.  The  Rev.  John  S.  Morris,  who 
has  been  until  recently  its  Rector,  has 
been  transferred  to  the  pastorate  of 
St.  Ailbe's,  Chicago.  Until  such  time 
as  the  negotiations  I  have  initiated 
with  your  Father  General  are  conclud- 
ed, you  will  kindly  look  after  the  spir- 
itual welfare  of  the  people  of  St.  Moni- 
ca's and  the  temporal  affairs  of  that 
parish  as  administrator,  either  person- 
ally or  through  one  of  your  Community. 

With  the  change  of  Rectors,  a  change 
of  policy  is  likewise  to  take  place  at  St. 
Monica's.  Until  now  practically  any- 
one who  so  desired  could  affiliate  him- 
self with  St.  Monica's,  attend  the  serv- 
ices and  receive  the  Sacraments  there. 
But  now  I  desire  St.  Monica's  to  be  re- 


292  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

served  entirely  for  the  colored  Catho- 
lics of  Chicago,  and  particularly  of  the 
South  Side ;  all  other  Catholics  of  what- 
ever race  or  color  are  to  be  requested 
not  to  intrude.  It  is,  of  course,  under- 
stood that  I  have  no  intention  of  ex- 
cluding colored  Catholics  from  any  of 
the  other  churches  in  the  diocese,  and 
particularly  if  they  live  in  another  part 
of  the  city,  but  simply  excluding  from 
St.  Monica's  all  but  the  colored  Catho- 
lics. 

My  reasons  for  this  regulation  are, 
briefly:  (1)  Because  there  are  two 
large  parishes  with  extensive  parochial 
plants  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  St. 
Monica's  where  these  former  can  re- 
ceive every  attention  and  where,  if  they 
live  in  the  vicinity,  they  by  right  be- 
long, which  parishes  they  are  bound  in 
conscience  and  in  accordance  with  their 
means  to  support.  (2)  St.  Monica's  was 
founded  for  the  colored  Catholics,  is  a 
comparatively  small  church,  the  sub- 
structure alone  being  as  yet  completed. 
By  intrusion  of  others,  the  crowd- 
ing, incommoding  and  embarrassing  of 
those  for  whom  this  mission  was  built 
will  result.  (3)  When  St.  Monica's  was 
first  established  the  colored  population 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  293 

in  Chicago  was  comparatively  small, 
very  poor,  and  there  may  have  been 
reason  to  appeal  for  support  to  others 
outside.  Now,  however,  the  colored 
population  of  Chicago  has  grown  very 
large;  the  men  are  nearly  all  at  work 
and  obtaining  a  much  more  adequate 
wage  or  salary;  the  number  of  Catho- 
lics among  them  has  grown  proportion- 
ately, and  they  feel,  I  believe,  even  as 
I  do,  that  they  are  able  and  willing  to 
support  their  own  church  and  school, 
and  if  they  do  the  credit  therefor  should 
go  to  them  and  to  nobody  else.  In  a 
word,  because  of  circumstances  that  ex- 
ist in  this  city  I  am  convinced  that  our 
colored  Catholics  will  feel  themselves 
much  more  comfortable,  far  less  incon- 
venienced and  never  at  all  embarrassed 
if,  in  a  church  that  is  credited  to  them, 
they  have  their  own  sodalities  and  soci- 
eties, their  own  school  and  choir,  in 
which  they  alone  will  constitute  the 
membership,  and  for  even  stronger  rea- 
sons the  first  places  in  the  church  should 
be  theirs  just  as  much  as  the  seats  in 
the  rear  benches  are. 

It  would  be  puerile  for  us  to  ignore 
the  fact  that  a  distinction  as  to  color 
enters  very  often  into  the  daily  happen- 


294  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

ings  of  our  city.  I  am  not  going  to  ar- 
gue as  to  the  reasons  for  or  against 
this  line  of  distinction  which  causes  so 
much  bitterness,  nor  will  I  say  anything 
as  to  the  justice  or  injustice  of  it.  It  is 
sufficient  to  say  that  it  does  exist  and 
that  I  am  convinced  that  I  am  quite 
powerless  to  change  it,  for  I  believe  the 
underlying  reasons  to  be  more  economic 
than  social.  What  I  am  concerned  about 
is  that  my  colored  children  shall  not  feel 
uncomfortable  in  the  Catholic  Church. 
The  existence  of  this  line  of  distinc- 
tion, it  seems  to  me,  ought  to  be  the  very 
reason  why  St.  Monica's  ought  to  show 
splendid  growth  and  progress  within 
the  next  few  years,  now  that  its  future 
lies  with  the  colored  race  in  this  city. 
I  am  mindful  of  the  fact  that  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  in  a  district  the  popula- 
tion of  which  is  almost  entirely  colored, 
they  have  their  own  institutions,  their 
theatres,  their  hotels  and  restaurants, 
in  some  instances  not  surpassed  by  the 
best  of  similar  establishments  further 
down-town.  Why,  then,  should  we  not 
accomplish  as  much  here  when  there  is 
question  of  the  one  and  only  church  the 
colored  Catholics  call  their  own  in  this 
city?  At  all  events,  I  have  confidence 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  295 

in  the  colored  Catholics  of  this  city, 
and  as  a  preliminary  step  in  proving 
this  I  shall  place  the  sole  responsibility 
for  St.  Monica's  in  their  hands.  If  they 
succeed  in  building  it  up,  as  I  think  they 
can,  then,  one  by  one,  as  they  are  able 
to  take  care  of  them,  we  will  add  other 
religious  and  educational  features;  if 
they  fail,  they  will  have  shattered  the 
faith  I  have  in  their  earnestness  and 
steadfastness  in  their  religion,  as  well 
as  the  laudable  spirit  of  pride  they 
should  show  in  their  own  and  their  peo- 
ple's progress  and  welfare.  In  this  city 
we  have  people  who  come  from  all  parts 
of  Europe.  Far  poorer  in  this  world's 
goods,  much  less  in  numbers  and  but 
poorly  equipped  in  knowledge  of  cus- 
toms and  conditions  here,  yet  we  find 
them  erecting  splendid  churches  and 
schools,  as  much  to  perpetuate  their 
customs  and  conditions  as  to  preserve 
their  country's  language.  And  yet  later 
on,  when  they  will  have  been  absorbed 
into  the  great  American  people,  their 
children  and  their  children's  children 
will  point  with  pride  to  the  sacrifices 
their  forefathers  made  in  the  days  of 
their  poverty  to  preserve  their  nation's 
ideals.  Then,  shall  it  be  later  said  that 


296  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

the  children  of  the  colored  race  have 
nothing  to  point  to  as  the  "footprints 
in  the  sands  of  time"  of  the  early  gen- 
erations of  colored  Catholics  in  this 
city  ?  I  refuse  to  believe  it,  and  for  that 
reason  I  am  appealing  to  the  three  or 
four  hundred  colored  Catholic  families 
in  this  city  to  come  together  and  do 
something  to  make  their  names  and 
their  faith  live,  a  monument  for  them 
and  for  their  children.  Let  them,  of 
their  own  accord,  by  making  sacrifices, 
even  as  others  do,  build  up  St.  Monica's, 
clear  it  of  debt,  make  it  attractive,  equip 
the  school;  and  if  they  do — if  we  see 
their  good  will,  their  ready  response, 
their  generous  co-operation — then  this 
will  simply  be  the  beginning  of  what 
we  are  prepared  to  do  for  our  colored 
Catholics  and  their  children.  Should 
they  fail,  I  would  be  disappointed  and 
sadly  mistaken  in  my  judgment  of 
them,  and  a  parish  distinctly  for  them 
would  die  like  a  poorly  nourished  in- 
fant. But,  when  I  consider  their  many 
good  qualities,  their  peaceful  family 
life,  their  love  for  their  children,  their 
strong  religious  spirit,  I  do  not  see  how 
they  can  fail.  I  have  never  met  a  col- 
ored man  who  was  professedly  atheistic 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  297 

or  blasphemous.  The  Creator  seems 
to  have  given  them  a  spirit  of  reverence 
and  religion  that  is  often  lacking  in 
other  races.  Then,  too,  their  children 
are  by  nature  deeply  affectionate.  Our 
Sisters  who  have  engaged  in  the  work 
of  teaching  the  colored  children  soon  be- 
come strongly  attached  to  them,  so  that 
it  is  very  hard  later  to  part  them  from 
their  charges.  Surely,  when  they  con- 
sider the  splendid,  self-sacrificing  work 
the  two  Communities  of  our  Sisters 
have  done  for  their  children,  for  those 
of  the  parish,  as  well  as  for  the  orphan- 
ed and  dependent,  there  is  no  colored 
man,  woman  or  child  in  Chicago,  even 
those  outside  of  the  Church,  who  will 
not  be  anxious  that  the  opportunity  of 
doing  something  for  the  good  of  the 
race,  for  the  honor  and  pride  of  their 
people,  that  this  work  of  religion  and 
education  which  means  so  much  for  the 
future  welfare  of  their  people  be  not 
allowed  to  fail,  but  rather  must  be  main- 
tained at  any  cost. 

Nor  can  I  permit  the  opportunity  to 
pass  of  reminding  the  colored  Catho- 
lics of  this  city  of  the  great  debt  of  grat- 
itude they  owe  to  that  noble  woman 
who  has  been  such  a  benefactor  to  them 


298  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

and  their  children,  Mother  Katharine 
Drexel,  who  has  spurned  every  worldly 
comfort  and  advantage  that  was  hers, 
who  contributed  every  penny  of  her 
great  wealth,  who  has  devoted  her  serv- 
ices and  her  life  and  the  lives  of  her  self- 
sacrificing  Sisters  in  religion  to  the  care 
of  an  almost  entirely  neglected  corner 
of  the  Lord's  vineyard,  to  the  work  of 
saving  the  souls  of  the  little  colored 
children  in  the  crowded  and  often 
squalid  city  quarters  as  well  as  in  the 
scattered  and  lonely  country  districts 
of  this  land.  Only  on  that  last  day, 
when  all  things  will  be  made  clear  to  us, 
will  the  colored  people  really  know  how 
much  these  devoted  handmaidens  of  the 
Lord  have  done  for  the  uplifting,  the 
education  and  the  sanctification  of  the 
children  of  their  race. 

The  handful  of  colored  Catholics  in 
Chicago  have  indeed  a  work  to  do.  To 
them  there  is  entrusted  the  mission  of 
the  laymen's  apostolate.  The  colored 
population  of  this  city  now  numbers,  I 
am  told,  nearly  one  hundred  thousand. 
Though  the  Lord  has  created  them  reli- 
giously inclined,  yet  the  great  mass  of 
these  people  are  unchurched.  What  a 
mission  there  is  here  for  the  Catholic 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS      299 

layman,  how  "white  the  fields  are  with 
the  harvest,"  yet  when  we  consider  the 
apathy,  the  indifference,  the  absolute 
neglect  of  their  spiritual  duties  and  op- 
portunities on  the  part  of  so  many  so- 
called  Catholics,  may  we  not  justly  say, 
"but  how  pitifully  few  are  the  laborers 
therein"?  It  is  for  this  reason  that  I 
have,  through  you,  Reverend  Father, 
addressed  this  communication  to  them. 
It  is  the  first  time,  I  believe,  that  a  Bish- 
op has  directed  an  appeal  to  his  colored 
children  alone.  Surely  their  apprecia- 
tion, their  sense  of  duty,  their  very! 
pride,  will  not  permit  it  to  be  fruitless. 
I  am  placing  in  their  care  St.  Monica's 
mission.  I  am  entrusting  to  them,  as 
the  objects  of  their  constant  and  partic- 
ular solicitude,  its  temporal  growth  and 
its  spiritual  progress.  I  hope  to  see 
their  house  of  God  increase  in  size  and 
grow  in  beauty.  I  Eope  to  see  the  par- 
ish activities  become  more  numerous, 
and  its  burden  of  debt  slowly  but  sure- 
ly melt  away.  And,  more  than  all,  I  de- 
sire to  see  the  number  of  its  school- 
children increase  and  the  recipients  of 
the  Sacraments  multiply  week  after 
week  and  month  after  month.  And  I 
pray  with  all  my  heart  that  many  a  soul 


300  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

now  dwelling  in  darkness  and  in  the 
shadow  of  death  may  enter  its  doors 
and  find  the  light,  the  truth  and  the 
peace  that  the  Master  has  hidden  in 
His  Church,  and  which  those  alone  find 
who  enter  the  true  fold.  Finally,  I  re- 
mind them  that  they  and  their  children 
are  as  dear  to  me  as  their  white-skinned 
brethren,  and  that  for  them  and  for 
their  children,  too,  I  must  one  day  ren- 
der an  accounting  before  the  Eternal 
Judge  Who  looks  not  at  the  color  of 
our  faces,  but  searches  for  the  purity 
of  our  hearts  and  judges  us  by  the  fruits 
we  have  to  show.  And  may  the  saintly 
patroness  under  whose  protection  we 
have  placed  our  colored  children  show 
for  each  of  them  that  same  maternal 
solicitude  that  she  showed  her  only  son, 
Augustine,  and,  like  him,  bring  them  to 
eternal  life. 

To  you,  therefore,  and  to  all  the  pa- 
rishioners of  St.  Monica's  I  send  my 
blessing,  in  the  hope  that  a  new  era  of 
material  and  spiritual  prosperity  is 
about  to  dawn  for  this  mission  and  its 
work. 

Sincerely  yours  in  Christ, 
^GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 
Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


Letter  to  the  Catholic  Total  Abstinence  Union 
of  Illinois 

Chicago,  111.,  Nov.  13, 1916. 

Miss  Frances  Martell,  Sec'y, 
The  Catholic  Total  Abstinence  Union 
of  Illinois,  Chicago,  111. 

Dear  Miss  Martell; 

I  have  delayed  answering  your  letter 
of  the  6th  inst.  until  I  should  have  found 
a  suitable  County  Chaplain  and  Spir- 
itual Director  for  your  union.  I 
have  selected  for  this  office  a  se- 
rious and  zealous  priest  —  the  Rev. 
William  Kinsella,  Rector  of  St.  Philip 
Neri's  Church.  I  am  quite  sure  he  will 
work  in  harmony  with  all  your  members 
and  that  through  this  union  you  may 
produce  fruitful  results. 

As  to  the  second  request  contained  in 
your  letter,  I  wish  to  say  that  the  work 
of  the  Catholic  Total  Abstinence  Union 
of  Illinois  has  my  approval,  my  good 
wishes  and  my  blessing.  Many  a  home 
would  be  intact  today  and  the  family 
happy  had  the  father  been  a  member 
of  your  organization.  Aside  from  that, 
the  object  of  your  society  is,  after  all, 
a  work  of  Christian  abnegation  of  self 


302      PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

and  it  implies  a  spirit  of  sacrifice  and  a 
work  of  penance  which  we  are  assured 
that  the  Lord  Himself  rewards.  So* 
that  while  total  abstinence  for  some  is 
an  absolute  necessity,  for  us  all  it  is 
highly  commendable. 

That  the  Lord  may  bless  all  of  your 
members  and  make  your  work  fruitful 
in  this  city  and  in  this  diocese  is  the 
wish  of 

Yours  sincerely  in  Christ, 

^GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 
Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


Letter  in  Favor  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus 
War  Camp  Activities 

Chicago,  111.,  Nov.  23, 1917. 

Mr.  Leroy  Hackett,  State  Deputy, 
Chicago  Chapter, 
Knights  of  Columbus, 
116  S.  Michigan  Ave.,  Chicago,  111. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Hackett: 

The  government  of  the  United  States 
has  officially  recognized  the  Knights  of 
Columbus  as  representing  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  in  the  various  training 
camps  for  soldiers  and  sailors,  both  in 
our  own  country  and  in  Europe,  while 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
acts  in"  the  same  capacity  for  all  of  the 
various  non-Catholic  churches.  As  a 
result,  they  have  taken  over  the  work  of 
erecting  and  directing  the  recreation 
centres  in  the  different  encampments. 
In  addition  to  this,  they  are  providing 
and  paying  for  workers  and  secretaries 
in  charge  of  these  buildings  and  the  ac- 
tivities they  represent.  Last,  but  not 
least,  the  Knights  of  Columbus  are  pay- 
ing the  salaries  and  expenses  of  a  num- 
ber of  post-chaplains,  about  ten  of 
them  accompanying  the  army  now  in 


304  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

France,  others  being  stationed  at  Rock- 
ford  and  other  home  camps  in  addition 
to  the  regularly  commissioned  army 
chaplains. 

In  all  of  these  activities  they  are 
working  under  the  direction  of  the 
Archbishops  of  the  United  States  and 
in  harmony  with  the  representatives 
appointed  by  these  prelates.  A  glance 
at  the  tremendous  work  undertaken 
and  completed  or  nearing  completion 
will  be  sufficient  to  show  that  a  vast 
amount  of  money  is  needed  to  pay  the 
expenses  incurred.  The  organization 
representing  the  non-Catholic  bodies 
recently  asked  for  and  obtained  thirty- 
five  million  dollars.  The  agency  per- 
forming the  same  work  under  Catholic 
auspices,  the  Knights  of  Columbus, 
asks  for  less  than  one-tenth  of  that  sum 
— but  three  million  dollars.  The  State 
of  Illinois  is  to  furnish  one-sixth  of  that 
amount.  There  should  not  be  the  slight- 
est question  of  their  obtaining  it.  The 
work  they  are  doing  in  the  camps  is  not 
for  the  benefit  of  their  organization, 
but  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church  in 
this  country.  The  work  they  are  doing 
is  absolutely  necessary,  for  it  means 
safeguarding  the  religion  and  the  mor- 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  305 

als  of  these  young  men  who  are  to  be 
the  fathers  of  the  families  of  the  future, 
who  at  a  critical  period  of  their  lives 
are  taken  away  from  the  restraining 
and  refining  influences  of  home,  and 
whom  the  Church  and  its  representa- 
tives are  thus  striving  to  protect  in 
their  new  environment.  In  consequence 
it  becomes  the  duty  of  all  of  us  to  give 
a  helping  hand  to  this  movement 

I  therefore  give  you  permission  to  ap- 
peal for  funds  in  the  Archdiocese  of 
Chicago  for  this  purpose,  the  week's 
public  campaign  beginning  Sunday,  De- 
cember 9th;  and  I  commend  warmly 
your  appeal  to  all  our  Catholic  people, 
both  to  those  who  have  given  sons  to 
the  army  and  navy  and  to  those  others 
who  have  none  to  give,  and  in  an  espe- 
cial manner  to  heads  of  industries  and 
employers  of  labor.  And  if,  in  a  partic- 
ular manner,  every  member  of  your 
order  will  take  a  personal  interest 
in  the  campaign,  give  the  same 
assistance  he  would  if  it  were  for 
himself,  put  his  shoulder  to  the 
wheel  and  push  the  campaign  on  to  suc- 
cess, there  is  not  a  doubt  but  that  you 
will  more  than  exceed  the  amount  al- 
lotted to  you  and  put  Illinois,  and  espe- 


306  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

daily  Chicago,  "over  the  top."  To  all 
who  contribute  and  help  this  good  work 
along,  whether  they  be  our  Catholic 
children  or  are  of  the  large  number  of 
our  generous  non-Catholic  citizens,  I 
send  my  blessing  and  my  thanks. 

With  every  good  wish  for  victory  and 
success,  I  remain, 

Sincerely  yours  in  Christ, 

*GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 
Archbishop  of  Chicago 


Letter  Directing  Requiem  Services  for  the  First 
Chicago  Soldiers  Killed  in  the  War 

Chicago,  HI.,  Dec.  7, 1917. 

The  Rev.  Casimir  Gronkowski, 
St.  Adalbert's  Rectory, 
1650  W.  Seventeenth  St., 
Chicago,  111. 

My  Dear  Father  Gronkowski: 

Dispatches  from  the  headquarters  of 
the  United  States  military  forces  in 
France  inform  us  that  the  first  Ameri- 
can soldier  from  the  city  of  Chicago  to 
be  killed  in  action  is  Peter  Wojtalewicz, 
a  boy  of  St.  Adalbert's  parish  and  a  for- 
mer pupil  of  its  parochial  school. 

It  seems  to  me  that  we  should  show  in 
some  special  manner  our  appreciation 
of  the  services  rendered  his  country  by 
this  heroic  young  soldier  and  of  the  dis- 
tinction that  has  thus  been  conferred 
on  his  parish — the  first  to  sacrifice  one 
of  its  soldier-sons  for  the  cause  of  liber- 
ty in  the  great  world  war. 

Accordingly,  you  will  announce  to  the 
congregation  at  all  the  Masses  on  Sun- 
day next  that,  at  the  direction  of  the 
Most  Rev.  Archbishop,  a  solemn  High 
Mass  of  Requiem  will  be  offered  up  in 


308  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

St.  Adalbert's  Church  on  next  Monday 
morning  at  10  o'clock  for  the  repose  of 
the  soul  of  Private  Peter  Wojtalewicz, 
who  was  killed  in  battle  while  fighting 
under  the  flag  of  his  country  in  a  for- 
eign land.  You  will  request  the  people 
of  the  parish  to  be  present  and,  togeth- 
er with  the  children  of  the  school,  to 
pray  for  the  youth  who  is  the  first  to 
bring  home  to  us  the  seriousness  of  the 
struggle  in  which  we  are  engaged,  and 
whose  name  heads  the  list  of  those  who 
are  giving  their  lives  for  our  country. 
We  are  proud  that  the  first  hero  slain 
on  the  battlefield  from  the  citizens  of 
this,  America's  second  largest  city,  was 
a  boy  of  Catholic  family,  educated  in 
our  Catholic  schools,  who  had  been 
among  the  first  to  volunteer  even  be- 
fore the  country  had  entered  the  war. 
It  is  likewise  a  cause  for  congratulation 
that  his  heroic  death  is  a  conspicuous 
proof  of  the  loyalty  and  patriotism  of 
the  children  of  those  of  our  people  who 
have  come  from  other  lands  and  who 
form  such  a  large  and  such  a  desirable 
element  in  the  citizenship  of  this  city. 
I  would  suggest,  too,  that  some  memo- 
rial tablet  of  this,  your  first  soldier's, 
death  be  erected  in  the  school  or  the 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  309 

church  building,  and  I  will  be  glad  to 

be  the  first  subscriber  toward  the  same. 

With  best  wishes,  I  beg  to  remain, 

Sincerely  yours  in  Christ, 

*GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 
Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


Letter  to  the  Ladies'  Auxiliary  of  the  Ancient 

Order  of  Hibernians,  Commending  the 

Study  of  Irish  History 

Chicago,  Ills.,  July  10th,  1916. 

Mrs.  William  McWhorter, 
Ladies'  Auxiliary, 
Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians, 
5407  Wabash  Ave.,  Chicago,  111. 

Dear  Mrs.  McWhorter: 

I  have  your  letter  of  the  3rd  inst, 
and  in  reply  to  the  same  I  beg  to  say 
that  I  give  my  hearty  commendation  of 
the  work  inaugurated  by  your  Auxil- 
iary for  the  study  of  Irish  History  in 
the  schools. 

From  Ireland  have  come  nearly  all 
of  the  Saints  who  have  evangelized  the 
different  nations  of  Europe,  and,  there- 
fore in  a  way,  no  matter  what  nation 
we  are  from,  we  are  all  interested  in 
the  past  history  of  Ireland ;  for  the  his- 
tory of  Ireland  means  to  a  great  extent 
the  history  of  the  Church  in  the  Middle 
Ages.  In  a  particular  manner  the  chil- 
dren of  Irish  parents  ought  to  have 
some  intelligent  reason  for  the  pride 
they  show  in  their  birth  and  in  their 
descent,  and  to  accomplish  this  they 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  311 

need  to  know,  not  so  much  the  Ireland 
of  the  present,  as  the  Ireland  of  the 
past.  Yet  the  special  reason  for  our 
commendation  of  this  movement  is  that 
the  memory  of  what  Ireland  and  the 
Irish  people  have  done  for  the  Church 
must  not  sink  into  the  dim  memories 
of  the  past,  but  should  be  kept  alive  in 
the  present  and  in  the  coming  genera- 
tions. 

Wishing  you  every  success,  I  beg  to 
remain,  dear  Madam, 

Sincerely  yours  in  Christ, 

*GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 
Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


Letter  Ordering  a  Collection  for  the  Suffering 
People  of  Poland 

Chicago,  Ills.,  March  16th,  1916. 

Reverend  Dear  Father: 

Because  we  are  far  distant  from  the 
carnage  of  war  and  the  noise  of  the 
conflict,  we  little  realize  the  dreadful 
affliction  that  has  visited  the  greater 
part  of  the  civilized  world.  To  us,  who 
are  living  in  peace  and  comfort  and 
security,  it  seems  almost  incredible  that 
countless  lives  have  been  sacrificed, 
that  billions  of  dollars  have  been  squan- 
dered, that  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
families  have  been  made  fatherless, 
rendered  homeless,  reduced  to  starva- 
tion and  beggary.  More  particularly 
the  smaller  and  weaker  nations,  that  lie 
in  the  path  of  the  contending  armies, 
have  suffered  untold  misery.  None 
more  than  poor  unfortunate  Poland. 
For  centuries  she  has  been  crushed 
under  the  heel  of  the  invader,  her  lands 
divided  among  her  bigger,  stronger 
neighbors,  her  people  deprived  of  their 
rights,  many  of  her  schools  of  their 
country's  language,  her  Bishops  and 
clergy  often  of  the  free  exercise  of 
their  jurisdiction.  In  spite,  however, 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  313 

of  centuries  of  hardships  and  persecu- 
tion, no  nation  has  been  more  loyal  to 
Holy  Mother  Church,  so  that  history 
gives  to  her  the  title  of  "ever-faithful 
daughter  of  the  Church." 

And  now  it  would  really  seem  that 
the  climax  of  her  suffering  has  come. 
Every  able-bodied  man  and  boy  has 
been  impressed  into  one  of  the  three 
contending  armies,  and  we  must  wit- 
ness the  heart-rending  spectacle  of 
brother  fighting  against  brother,  not 
for  their  country's  freedom,  but  for  a 
cause  in  which  they  have  no  interest 
and  for  the  nations  that  hold  their  own 
in  bondage.  But  what  is  even  more 
pitiful,  the  silent,  innocent  sufferers  are 
the  aged  and  the  weak,  the  women  and 
the  children;  with  their  bread-winners 
torn  from  their  midst,  in  most  cases 
never  to  return,  with  their  homes  razed 
to  the  ground,  they  are  reduced  to 
misery  and  starvation  that  is  appalling. 
All  Poland  has  been  the  battlefield  of 
the  war;  three  great  armies  have  swept 
over  its  cities  and  its  fields  again  and 
again  until  today  there  is  hardly  a  peb- 
ble or  a  blade  of  grass  in  the  land  that 
has  not  been  crushed  by  a  soldier's  foot. 
From  trustworthy  sources  we  learn 


314  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

that  more  than  ten  thousand  small 
towns  and  villages  have  been  destroyed, 
nearly  all  children  under  seven  years 
of  age  are  dead,  and  half  a  million  of 
old  men,  of  women  and  children  are 
facing  starvation.  Stricken,  crushed, 
bleeding  from  every  pore,  literally 
dying  from  hunger  and  want,  Poland 
cries  out  to  the  world  for  help,  and  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  the  father  of  all  the 
faithful,  but  more  particularly  the  pro- 
tector of  the  weak  and  defenceless, 
brings  the  cry  of  this  suffering  people 
to  our  notice.  In  most  of  the  dioceses 
of  this  country,  the  Bishops  have  pub- 
lished this  appeal  of  our  Holy  Father, 
adding  thereto  a  commendatory  mes- 
sage of  their  own.  And  in  nearly  every 
case  the  result  has  been  a  most  gratify- 
ing response  from  the  faithful,  a  splen- 
did outpouring  of  generosity  for  their 
unfortunate  brethren  of  the  faith  in  a 
war-scarred  country.  But  in  this  arch- 
diocese this  appeal  has  been  withheld 
until  now,  awaiting  the  appointment  of 
a  bishop  to  the  See,  made  vacant  by  the 
death  of  the  late  Archbishop. 

And  so  today,  while  we  sympathize 
with  a  suffering  people,  yet  we  rejoice 
that  our  first  communication  to  you, 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  315 

Keverend  Father,  and  your  people, 
should  be  an  appeal  to  their  and  your 
generosity  in  behalf  of  the  poor,  the 
hungry,  the  homeless,  the  worthy  ob- 
jects of  our  charity.  We  rejoice  that 
the  opportunity  is  given  to  us  to  pay 
the  tribute  of  appreciation  to  our  chil- 
dren who  have  come  to  our  diocese  in 
such  large  numbers  from  that  now 
helpless  and  suffering  country.  They 
have  never  appealed  to  us  for  help 
before,  but  though  they  may  have  been 
poor  and  without  worldly  means,  yet 
they  have  erected  here  in  Chicago  in 
little  more  than  a  score  of  years 
churches  that  are  monuments  and 
schools  that  are  a  credit  to  our  system. 
They -have  been,  and  they  are,  our 
obedient,  loyal  subjects,  and  their  chil- 
dren will  be  among  the  best  citizens  of 
this  city  and  true  to  the  faith  of  their 
fathers.  Even  now  they  would  hesitate 
to  appeal  to  us  for  their  dear  ones  in 
their  fatherland,  but  the  disaster  is  so 
appalling,  the  suffering  so  great,  the 
danger  of  the  last  drops  of  their  na- 
tion's blood  dripping  from  its  wounds 
is  so  imminent,  that  they  are  forced  to 
apply  to  their  brethren  in  the  faith  for 
the  charity  and  the  help  that  is  so  badly 


316  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

and  so  quickly  needed.  And  while  we 
give  to  their  appeal  our  hearty  sup- 
port, at  the  same  time  we  cannot 
withhold  the  expression  of  our  pride 
and  admiration  at  the  worthy  conduct 
of  the  Polish  episcopate  and  their 
clergy,  for  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  fifteen  hundred  Catholic  churches 
in  Poland  have  been  destroyed,  yet 
today  every  Bishop  is  in  his  diocese  and 
every  priest  in  his  parish  (excepting 
those  who  are  with  the  armies)  to  share 
their  people's  suffering  and  comfort 
them  in  their  distress. 

Therefore,  conforming  to  the  wish 
of  our  Holy  Father,  in  response  to  the 
appeal  of  the  Polish  Bishops,  as  well  as 
the  dictates  of  Christian  and  fraternal 
charity,  we  do  now  appoint  the  fourth 
Sunday  in  Lent,  the  second  day  of  April 
next,  as  the  day  for  a  special  collection 
to  be  taken  up  in  the  churches  of  the 
archdiocese  of  Chicago  for  the  suffer- 
ing people  of  Poland.  And  on  the  Sun- 
day preceding,  we  direct  that  you  read 
this  our  letter  to  your  people  at  the 
Masses,  and,  if  there  be  time,  the  letter 
of  the  Cardinal  Secretary  of  State  and 
the  appeal  of  the  Polish  Bishops  and 
add  a  word  of  commendation  of  your 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  317 

own.  As  soon  thereafter  as  possible, 
you  will  make  returns  to  the  Chancery 
Office. 

To  you  and  to  your  faithful  people, 
while  commending  ourselves  to  your 
prayers,  we  send  our  blessing. 

Faithfully  yours  in  Christ, 

^GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 
Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


Pastoral  Letter  in  Favor  of  the  Preparatory 
Seminary  of  the  Archdiocese 

GEORGE  WILLIAM  MUNDELEIN, 

By  the  Grace  of  God  and  the  Favor  of  the 
Apostolic  See 

Archbishop  of  Chicago. 

Rev.  Dear  Father: 

Within  the  last  score  of  years  the 
conviction  has  gradually  forced  itself 
upon  the  bishops  of  the  large  dioceses 
of  this  country  that  the  number  of 
those  presenting  themselves  as  candi- 
dates for  the  seminary  and  desirous  of 
entering  the  priesthood  was  slowly  but 
surely  diminishing.  They  found  it  nec- 
essary to  take  special  measures  to  safe- 
guard those  to  whom  God  has  given 
the  grace  of  a  priestly  vocation  not  only 
during  the  years  of  their  seminary 
course  of  theology,  but  even  earlier, 
when  the  first  signs  of  probable  voca- 
tion in  the  young  schoolboy  manifested 
themselves  to  the  watchful  eye  of  pas- 
tor or  confessor.  In  former  genera- 
tions, partly  because  the  need  of  priests 
was  not  so  sharply  and  so  noticeably 
felt,  the  custom  was  to  educate  those 
who  had  aspirations  to  the  priesthood  in 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS      319 

the  then  existing  Catholic  high  schools 
and  colleges  under  the  care  of  one  of 
the  teaching  Orders  of  the  Church, 
where  they  were  associated  with  other 
youths  preparing  for  a  professional  or 
business  career  and  who  had  no  voca- 
tion for  the  clerical  state.  But  every- 
where, and  particularly  in  our  large 
cities,  we  found  that  year  after  year, 
though  the  number  of  our  people  was 
increasing,  the  number  of  those  who 
knocked  on  the  door  of  the  seminary 
and  asked  to  be  enrolled  in  the  body  of 
the  clergy  was  not  growing  apace.  And 
not  today  or  yesterday,  but  for  many 
years  past,  has  the  conviction  entered 
the  minds  of  watchful  pastors  of  souls, 
that  the  time  had  come  when  something 
must  be  done  to  protect  the  tender 
shoots  of  priestly  vocation  as  soon  as 
they  showed  themselves  in  the  clean, 
pure  hearts  of  good,  bright  young  boys 
in  our  schools,  to  shelter  them  not  only 
from  the  killing  blasts  of  sinful  tempta- 
tion, but  also  from  the  chilling  at- 
mosphere of  modern  materialism,  the 
selfish  craving  for  ease,  the  inordinate 
love  of  money,  the  exaggerated  spirit 
of  independence,  which  comes  not  only 
into  our  schools  and  colleges,  but  enters 


320  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

right  into  the  heart  of  the  home  itself. 
And  so  we  have  learned  a  lesson  from 
the  Religious  Orders  of  the  Church, 
who  long  ago  provided  special  schools, 
preparatory  novitiates,  monastic  scho- 
lasticates,  in  which  they  taught  and 
trained  and  prepared  from  early  boy- 
hood those  who  aspire  to  lead  this  more 
perfect  life  as  members  of  their  Order. 
And  we  have  argued,  and  probably 
with  a  great  deal  of  truth,  that,  if  it  be 
necessary  so  to  shelter,  watch  and  care- 
fully train  those  who  will  live  their  lives 
in  the  community  of  their  brethren  in 
religion  and  be  protected  by  a  special 
approved  rule  of  life,  how  much  more  so 
is  this  necessary  for  the  secular  priest, 
who  so  often  stands  alone,  a  shining 
mark  for  the  enemies  of  Religion,  who 
must  be  a  dux  populi  and  a  flamma  gre- 
gis,  of  whom  it  is  required  that,  though 
he  be  in  the  world,  yet  that  he  be  not  of 
it  It  is  for  this  reason  that  in  several 
of  the  dioceses  of  the  country  the  bish- 
ops have  established  the  more  modern 
form  of  the  preparatory  seminary, 
where  the  young  boy  selected  from 
among  his  companions  by  the  pastor  or 
confessor,  who  discerns  in  him  the  prob- 
able signs  of  a  vocation,  the  piety,  in- 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  321 

telligence  and  application  which  is  re- 
quired for  the  candidate  for  the  holy 
priesthood,  even  while  remaining  in  the 
sacred  circle  of  the  home  and  under  the 
watchful  eye  of  a  pious  mother,  is 
placed  apart  and  educated  with  those 
only  who  look  forward  to  that  same 
great  work  in  life,  the  priestly  field  of 
labor,  keeping  daily  before  his  mind  the 
sublime  vocation  of  the  priesthood,  pre- 
serving him  pure  and  pious  by  constant 
exhortation,  by  daily  assistance  at  the 
Holy  Sacrifice  and  by  frequent  recep- 
tion of  the  Sacraments. 

One  of  the  first  bishops  of  this  coun- 
try to  realize  this  need  for  his  diocese 
and  make  provision  for  it  was  my  pre- 
decessor, the  late  Archbishop  Quigley. 
Nearly  eleven  years  ago  he  opened  the 
preparatory  seminary  for  the  education 
of  boys  to  the  priesthood,  but  the  Lord 
called  him  to  his  reward  before  he  could 
see  the  first  fruits  of  this  work  and  to 
raise  to  the  holy  priesthoo'd  the  first  of 
the  boys  who  had  passed  through  his 
Cathedral  College.  It  was  a  year  ago 
last  January  that  I  saw  Archbishop 
Quigley  the  last  time,  at  the  funeral  of 
his  friend,  Bishop  Burke  of  Albany.  We 
were  at  the  railroad  station  awaiting 


322  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

the  arrival  of  the  train.  I  was  probably 
the  last  to  speak  to  him  then.  For  near- 
ly a  quarter  of  an  hour  we  were  to- 
gether, and  during  all  that  time  the 
only  subject  of  his  conversation  was  his 
preparatory  seminary.  When  the  mes- 
sage came  to  me  telling  me  I  was  to  be 
his  successor,  that  scene  came  back  viv- 
idly to  my  mind.  It  almost  seemed  as 
though  he  were  enlisting  my  sympathy 
in  the  work  in  which  he  was  so  much  in- 
terested, for  which  he  had  made  plans, 
which  were  not  brought  to  fulfillment, 
because  death  stilled  the  brain  that  had 
conceived  them.  And  it  was  then  that 
I  determined  that,  with  the  help  of  his 
and  my  priests,  I  would  make  his  pre- 
paratory seminary  a  lasting  work,  that 
it  should  be  placed  on  a  stable  basis,  that 
the  buildings  that  would  house  his  stu- 
dents and  their  teachers  should  bear 
his  name  and  should  be  his  monument, 
so  that  the  memory  of  this  silent,  zeal- 
ous, self-sacrificing  Prelate  might  live 
for  many  generations  of  Chicago 
priests.  And,  after  all,  what  would  be 
more  fitting?  We  know  that  he  plan- 
ned this  work,  that  he  began  it  and 
that  he  supported  it.  But  what  many 
of  us  do  not  know  is  that  plans  for  its 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  323 

growth  and  improvement  were  con- 
stantly in  his  mind,  that  he  was  proud 
of  the  progress  his  students  made  and 
that  he  denied  himself  many  things  so 
that  he  might  personally  contribute 
large  sums  for  its  support.  But  in  or- 
der to  insure  its  continuance  as  one  of 
our  principal  diocesan  institutions,  one 
of  which  the  clergy  of  Chicago  and  our 
people  may  point  to  with  pride,  in  order, 
too,  that  it  may  be  a  fitting  and  lasting 
monument  to  the  late  Archbishop,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  change  both  the  build- 
ings themselves,  as  well  as  the  manner 
of  providing  for  its  support  in  the  fu- 
ture. At  present  the  buildings  are  anti- 
quated, unsuited  and  insufficient  for  the 
heeds  of  the  diocese.  Archbishop  Quig- 
ley  himself  had  intended  to  erect  new 
ones.  The  manner  of  supporting  the 
institution  is  precarious,  the  source  of 
the  support  insecure  and  inadequate  for 
the  maintenance  of  a  larger  number  of 
boys.  Moreover,  neither  clergy  nor  peo- 
ple contribute  to  its  support,  and  it  is 
my  firm  conviction  that  helping  in  the 
education  of  a  boy  to  the  priesthood 
'does  bring  with  it  a  special  recompense 


324  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

from  God,  and  therefore  should  be  en- 
couraged. 

And  now,  with  the  help  of  Almighty 
God  and  to  the  glory  of  His  holy  name, 
for  the  conservation  of  the  Faith  here 
in  our  midst,  with  the  loyal  co-operation 
of  my  priests  and  people,  I  purpose  to 
establish  the  Quigley  Preparatory  Sem- 
inary of  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago. 
Knowing,  however,  how  much  our  peo- 
ple are  burdened  with  the  needs  of  their 
own  parishes  and  the  many  calls  upon 
their  generosity  for  the  aid  of  their 
poor  and  destitute  neighbors,  I  am  not 
going  to  ask  them  to  erect  the  buildings, 
but  I  do  appeal  to  them  and  their  pas- 
tors to  share  in  the  truly  religious  work 
of  educating  boys  to  the  holy  priest- 
hood by  creating  the  fund  which  will 
supply  the  means  for  future  times  of  de- 
fraying the  expenses  of  this  work.  In 
a  word, — I  will  provide  the  ground  and 
erect  the  main  building  of  the  new  dio- 
cesan preparatory  seminary,  if  priests 
and  people  of  the  diocese  will  provide 
for  its  support  by  foundations  of  schol- 
arships, each  one  of  which  will  for  all 
times  pay  for  a  boy's  education,  during 
the  years  he  spends  in  this  institution. 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  325 

And  I  will  go  even  further  and  say,  that 
if  we  succeed,  and  I  fell  assured  we  will, 
then  do  I  see  my  way  clear,  within  a  few 
years,  to  provide  a  Theological  Semi- 
nary for  this  diocese,  as  complete,  as 
beautiful,  as  monumental,  as  any  in 
this  country,  and  in  that  case  without 
burdening  the  parishes,  priests  or  peo- 
ple. 

Therefore,  before  describing  the  lo- 
cation or  character  of  the  new  build- 
ings, it  may  be  wise  to  explain  the 
method  of  support  It  will  take  us 
more  than  a  year  probably  to  erect  the 
first  of  the  new  buildings,  but  we  hope 
to  increase  at  once  the  number  of  stu- 
dents. At  present  they  number  about 
two  hundred.  To  provide  for  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  diocese,  the  annual  loss 
"by  death  among  the  clergy,  antici- 
pating, too,  the  number  of  boys,  who, 
because  of  failing  health,  need  of  sup- 
porting depending  parents,  younger 
brothers  or  sisters,  or  other  reasons, 
may  be  forced  to  leave  before  their 
course  is  completed,  this  diocese  should 
have  fully  five  hundred  boys  in  the  Pre- 
paratory Seminary.  Beginning  with 
with  the  next  scholastic  year,  all  boys 


326 


who  come  recommended  by  their  pastor 
or  confessor  and  who  have  completed 
'the  eighth  grade  of  the  ordinary  gram- 
mar-school course  will  be  received. 
Graduates  of  any  of  our  parochial 
schools  will  be  admitted  on  presentation 
of  their  certificate.  Graduates  of  other 
schools  must  be  prepared  for  a  prelim- 
inary examination,  if  this  be  required 
by  the  faculty.  The  tuition  of  every 
boy  entering  the  Preparatory  Seminary 
from  now  on  must  be  paid  from  one 
source  or  another.  Either  his  family 
pays  his  tuition  or  the  priest  who  sends 
him  pays  for  him,  or  he  obtains  a  schol- 
arship, which  provides  for  his  tuition. 
Moreover,  whenever  a  number  of  boys 
are  sent  from  one  parish,  the  pastor 
may  pay  their  tuition  bills  from  the 
educational  funds  of  the  parish  and  so 
charge  it  on  his  annual  report.  But 
for  the  future  continued  success  of  the 
Preparatory  Seminary,  we  depend 
largely  on  a  constantly  increasing  num- 
ber of  endowed  places,  called  scholar- 
ships, which  will  automatically  pay  for 
the  tuition  of  a  number  of  students  in 
perpetuity.  It  will  be  our  endeavor  to 
make  the  offer  of  endowments  in  the 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS      327 

Preparatory  Seminary  as  attractive  as 
possible,  so  that  both  for  clergy  and 
laity  the  foundation  of  at  least  one 
scholarship  will  be  considered  a  splen- 
did investment,  "where  neither  the  rust 
nor  moth  doth  consume,  and  where 
thieves  do  not  break  through  nor  steal." 
For  the  layman,  what  better  work  can 
he  perform  than  to  be  the  means  not 
only  during  his  life  time,  but  long  after 
he  shall  have  gone  from  this  world,  of 
helping  poor  and  deserving  boys  to  real- 
ize their  fondest  and  most  pious  hope 
of  standing  some  day  at  God's  altar, 
there  to  offer  up  the  adorable  Sacrifice 
of  the  new  law  for  the  spiritual  and 
temporal  needs  of  one  who  has  been 
their  benefactor.  And  after  all,  one 
of  the  dearest  wishes  of  every  good 
priest's  heart  is  to  leave  behind  him 
some  one  whom  he  has  guided,  helped 
and  with  his  slender  savings  educated, 
and  who  will  take  up  the  work  from  his 
hands,  when  death  shall  have  palsied 
their  activity  forevermore.  I  have  es- 
tablished personally  the  first  two  of 
these  scholarships,  both  in  memory  of 
the  late  Archbishop,  the  first,  St. 
James',  to  be  occupied  in  perpetuity  by 


328      PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

a  boy  from  the  Cathedral  School,  the 
other,  St.  Edward's,  to  be  occupied 
always  by  an  orphan  boy.  Six  others 
have  been  promised,  and  it  is  my  ex- 
pectation that  this  number  will  be  in- 
creased to  at  least  a  hundred  within 
the  next  year.  A  brief  explanation  re- 
garding the  conditions  of  a  founded 
scholarship  may  not  be  out  of  place, 
here  and  at  this  time.  Because  of  the 
rate  of  interest  that  can  be  obtained 
with  safety  on  long-time  investments 
at  the  present  time,  twenty-five  hun- 
dred dollars  is  the  sum  required  for 
founding  a  scholarship,  so  that  its  in- 
terest may  at  all  times  educate  a  boy. 
Each  scholarship  is  to  be  known  by  the 
name  of  a  Saint,  or  some  title  of  Our 
Blessed  Lady,  and  may  bear  in  addi- 
tion the  name  of  the  founder.  The 
scholarship  may  be  placed  at  the  dispo- 
sal of  a  certain  parish,  to  be  occupied 
by  a  boy  from  a  certain  school,  or  the 
candidate  to  be  selected  by  the  donor, 
or  finally,  the  place  to  be  thrown  open 
to  completion,  the  choice  to  be  sub- 
ject in  each  and  every  case  to  the  ap- 
proval of  the  Archbishop  and  the  Rev. 
Faculty  of  the  College.  Though  for 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  329 

some  of  our  parishes  it  may  be  prac- 
tically impossible,  yet  for  the  others,  it 
would  certainly  be  desirable  for  every 
parish  that  is  able  to  do  so,  to  have  a 
scholarship  of  its  own,  to  be  occupied 
always  by  some  one  of  its  children, 
whom  God  has  selected  as  one  of  His 
messengers  to  carry  the  good  tidings 
of  the  Gospel  and  break  the  Bread  of 
Life,  it  may  be,  for  those  who  have 
known  him  from  childhood.  And  it  is 
even  more  desirable  still  that  some 
God-fearing  charitable  men  and  women 
may  be  inspired  to  found  other  scholar- 
ships that  will  be  placed  at  the  Arch- 
bishop's disposal,  and  so  enable  worthy 
boys,  and  young  men  burning  with  a 
desire  to  become  priests,  but  who  have! 
no  means  of  their  own,  and  who  other- 
wise might  never  be  able  to  realize  this 
fondest  wish  of  their  heart.  Surely, 
there  is  no  greater  charity  than  to 
share  in  the  making  and  training  of  a 
priest  of  God,  and  thus  have  a  share, 
too,  in  the  great  fruits  of  his  sacerdotal 
ministration.  Moreover,  when  a  stu- 
dent is  accepted  as  a  beneficiary  of  a 
founded  scholarship,  he  binds  himself 
in  writing,  that,  if  he  completes  his 


330      PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

education  in  the  preparatory  seminary 
and  is  afterwards  ordained  to  the 
priesthood,  he  will  annually  for  the 
space  of  ten  years  celebrate  ten  Masses 
for  the  intentions  of  his  benefactor,  the 
donor  or  donors  of  the  scholarship. 

This  obligation  is  to  be  imposed  on 
every  such  student  who  completes  his 
education  in  the  preparatory  seminary, 
no  matter  how  long  or  how  short  a  time 
he  has  enjoyed  the  privileges  of  the 
scholarship,  and  whether  he  is  ordained 
for  this  diocese  or  elsewhere.  The 
money  donated  for  the  foundation  of 
scholarships  is  not  to  be  used  for  new 
buildings  or  any  similar  purpose,  but  is 
to  be  invested  in  proper  securities,  as 
may  be  designated  by  the  Most  Rev. 
Archbishop  or  others  appointed  by  him 
for  this  purpose. 

A  new  site  has  been  procured  for  the 
proposed  Preparatory  Seminary,  nearly 
one-half  of  an  entire  city  square,  em- 
bracing nearly  thirty-five  thousand 
square  feet,  but  a  few  short  blocks  from 
the  Cathedral,  admittedly  one  of  the 
most  favorable  locations  in  the  city  and 
giving  easy  access  from  all  parts  of  the 
city  and  diocese.  The  buildings  will 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  331 

easily  be  among  the  most  beautiful  in 
Chicago.  They  are  to  be  in  the  early 
French  Gothic  style  of  architecture, 
and  by  reason  of  their  distinct  indi- 
viduality and  their  prominent  location 
will  form  a  place  of  interest,  not  only  to 
visitors,  but  also  to  all  lovers  of  the  city 
beautiful.  The  group  of  three  build- 
ings will  be  composed  of  a  main  or 
college  building,  and  the  two  ornate 
wings  will  be,  one  the  Chapel,  the  other, 
the  library  and  gymnasium.  For  it  will 
be  of  interest  to  the  clergy  to  know 
that,  in  accordance  with  the  ancient 
adage  "mens  sana  in  corpore  sano,"  the 
new  Seminary  will  be  equipped  with  a 
kitchen  and  refectory  as  well  as  a 
gymnasium  and  baths. 

There  is  one  other  of  the  group  of 
buildings  for  the  Preparatory  Sem- 
inary I  should  like  to  erect  in  the  near 
future.  The  seminary  Chapel  is  to  be 
dedicated  to  St.  James  the  Apostle,  the 
Patron  Saint  of  the  late  Archbishop.  I 
wish  it  to  be  the  gift  of  the  Catholic 
children  of  the  diocese  to  their  Arch- 
bishop's memory,  as  a  mark  of  their 
affection  for  him  and  a  recognition  of 
his  solicitude  for  them.  That  every 


332  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

child,  rich  or  poor,  may  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  its  own  little  share  in 
erecting  this,  their  monument,  let  every 
boy  and  girl  in  the  parochial  schools  of 
the  diocese,  and  in  the  Sunday-schools 
where  there  are  as  yet  no  parish 
schools,  contribute  a  penny  each  week, 
and  the  priests,  the  Sisters  and  Broth- 
ers arrange  in  each  school  and  in 
each  classroom  a  proper  receptacle  or 
method  of  collecting  this  little  weekly 
mite  from  the  children  and  forward  the 
amount  to  the  Chancery  Office  at  the 
end  of  each  month.  But  the  children 
must  be  made  to  understand  that  this 
offering,  small  though  it  may  be,  must 
be  a  voluntary  one  on  their  part,  and  be 
told  what  the  exact  purpose  intended  is. 
Moreover,  I  would  not  have  it  interfere 
in  any  way  with  any  charitable  or  re- 
ligious work  they  may  already  be  en- 
gaged in.  So,  even  as  giant  oaks  from 
tiny  acorns  grow,  a  beautiful  chapel, 
an  architectural  gem,  a  fitting  residence 
for  our  Sacramental  Lord  and  the  love- 
liest gift  children  ever  offered  to  their 
spiritual  father,  will  be  erected  by  the 
pennies  contributed  weekly  by  our  little 
children. 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  333 

And  now  I  have  endeavored  to  place 
before  you  as  clearly  as  I  can  and  as 
briefly  as  possible  under  the  circum- 
stances the  reason  for  the  explanation 
of  the  plan  of  the  Preparatory  Sem- 
inary. I  commend  it  to  your  charity 
and  to  your  and  your  people's  gener- 
osity. It  is  perhaps  the  biggest,  the 
most  important  work  the  diocese  will 
ever  undertake.  We  have  undertaken 
movements  of  charity,  to  relieve  differ- 
ent kinds  of  distress,  but  this  is  the  first 
work  of  religion  inaugurated  under  my 
administration.  I  am  anxious  it  should 
succeed,  not  for  any  personal  motive, 
but  because  it  means  much  for  the 
growth  of  the  Church  in  Chicago;  it 
means  providing  workers  in  the  vine- 
yard here,  when  we  have  gone,  to 
receive  the  day's  wages  from  the 
heavenly  steward;  it  means  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  many  works  of  religion 
and  of  charity  we  have  begun,  and  to 
which  we  of  the  clergy  have  given 
freely  and  willingly  of  our  time,  of  our 
means,  of  our  strength.  It  means  a 
proper  appreciation,  too,  of  the  work  of 
my  predecessor,  and  a  constant  remem- 
brance of  his  soul's  welfare  in  prayer 


334  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

and  at  the  altar  for  many  years  to 

come.     "Mementote  praepositorum  ves- 

trorum  qui  vobis  locuti  sunt  verbum  Dei." 

Sincerely  yours  in  Xt, 

^GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 

Archbishop  of  Chicago, 

Feast  of  the  Holy  Apostles  Philip  and 
James,  1916, 


Letter  in  Favor  of  the  Work  of  the  Sisters  of 
the  Good  Shepherd,  Chicago 

Chicago,  III,  December  llth,  1917. 

Sister  Mary  of  the  Good  Shepherd, 
Superior, 

Convent  of  the  Good  Shepherd, 
1126  Grace  St.,  Chicago,  111. 

My  Dear  Mother  Superior: 

The  season  of  the  year  again  draws 
near  when  the  hearts  of  little  children 
the  world  over  are  gladdened  because 
of  the  coming  of  our  Infant  Savior; 
and  all  of  us,  of  every  age  in  life,  and 
in  whatever  station  we  may  be,  strive 
to  make  Christmas  happy  and  memo- 
rable for  the  little  ones  who  have  crept 
into  our  hearts,  for  this  is  the  one  day 
of  the  year  that  is  surely  theirs,  the  day 
for  which  they  have  longed  and  waited 
with  all  the  ardor  of  their  little  souls. 
Not  only  do  we  strive  at  this  time  to 
make  happy  the  children  of  our  own 
families  and  in  our  own  homes,  but  our 
charity  and  our  generosity  go  beyond 
the  thresholds  of  our  homes  and  help 
to  gladden  the  children  of  the  poor,  the 
orphaned  and  fatherless,  because  on 


336  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

this  day  the  Son  of  God  came  from 
heaven,  a  helpless  little  child,  for  our 
sakes,  not  in  a  palace,  resting  in  a 
golden  crib,  garbed  in  silken  clothes; 
but  poor,  helpless,  homeless,  forlorn. 
"You  shall  find  the  Infant,"  said  the 
angel,  "wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes, 
laid  in  a  manger."  (Luke  11:12.) 

As  far  as  lies  with  me,  I  would  in  a 
particular  manner  make  the  Christmas 
day  that  will  soon  dawn  a  day  of  joy 
and  gladness  for  those  who  dwell  under 
your  roof.  I  would  give  some  sign  of 
the  solicitude  I  feel  for  the  welfare  of 
the  children  committed  to  your  care — 
the  children  to  whom  the  world  has  been 
so  cruel,  so  unkind,  so  unjust;  whose 
innocent  souls  so  early  in  life  were 
left  torn  and  bruised  by  the  heedless 
heel  of  some  selfish  seeker  after  pleas- 
ure ;  whose  baptismal  whiteness  became 
soiled  and  tarnished  so  soon  by  contact 
with  the  mud  of  the  city  streets  and  the 
filth  of  Satan's  haunts  of  pleasure;  or 
who  were  too  often  untaught,  un- 
warned, unprepared,  and  so  suffered 
the  fate  of  the  seed  in  the  Gospel  that 
fell  on  a  rock  and  "withered  away  be- 
cause it  had  no  moisture."  (Luke 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  337 

VIII  :6.)  To  carry  out  Christ's  own 
mission  of  saving  sinners,  God  in  His 
infinite  goodness  called  you  and  your 
Sisters  in  religion  that  you  might  give 
up  home  and  family  and  friends,  every- 
thing in  life,  to  devote  yourself  and  all 
that  is  yours  to  the  care  of  "the  least  of 
these,"  His  "little  ones."  He  chose  you 
to  bring  them  under  the  shelter  of  the 
cloister  and  into  the  shadow  of  the 
tabernacle  where,  far  from  the  city's 
glare  and  clamor,  away  from  the  beck- 
oning finger  of  temptation,  in  the  quiet 
of  the  sanctuary  and  under  the  protect- 
ing wing  of  religion  you  might  bind 
up  their  wounds,  nourish  back  their 
strength  and  make  them  feel  the  won- 
derful love  that  beats  in  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Jesus  for  the  penitent  sinner. 
Surely,  for  this  work  of  human  sal- 
vage in  a  great  city,  there  are  none 
better  fitted  than  you.  Speaking  from 
a  merely  human  standpoint,  first  of  all, 
you  had  and  you  have  the  desire  for 
this  special  work;  you  have  selected  it 
of  your  own  free  will  and  you  have 
made  it  your  life's  work.  You  have, 
therefore,  enthusiasm  and  liking  for 
the  rather  difficult  task  in  which  you 


338      PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

are  engaged,  elements  quite  necessary 
for  its  successful  accomplishment.  Sec- 
ondly, you  have  the  required  training. 
You  are  specialists  in  this  line  and  you 
have  the  benefit  of  the  experience  of 
others  and  of  the  traditions  which  your 
Community  has  gathered  and  treas- 
ured. But  that  which  far  more  than  all 
this  fits  you  for  your  task  is  the  fact 
that  Christ  has  called  you  for  this  work, 
and  to  you  He  has  said  in  the  hour  of 
your  profession,  even  as  He  said  to  His 
disciples:  "You  have  not  chosen  me, 
but  I  have  chosen  you."  (John  XV:16.) 
He  has  given  you  those  supernatural 
helps  which  more  than  all  worldly 
training  will  fit  you  to  make  over  again 
into  souls  pure,  pleasing  and  acceptable 
in  His  sight,  the  wayward,  erring,  sin- 
ning children  of  our  great  cities.  In 
this  work  of  reform  and  reclamation 
and  reconstruction,  your  greatest  aids 
are  the  teachings  of  religion  and  its 
means  of  grace.  These  alone  can  give 
your  precepts  and  warnings  a  lasting 
effect;  these  alone  can  confirm  your 
children  in  the  good  resolutions  that 
they  have  made  while  under  your  care, 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS      339 

and  give  them  strength  in  the  hour  of 
temptation. 

Yet  the  Lord  often  makes  use  of  hu- 
man instruments  and  of  earthly  means 
to  carry  our  the  great  designs  of  Provi- 
dence; and  you,  too,  to  make  it  entirely 
effective,  should  have  some  material 
support  for  your  work  of  leading  these 
strayed,  erring,  bewildered  souls  back 
to  their  Savior.  Only  too  often,  to  your 
great  sorrow  and  disappointment,  has 
one  of  these  children,  for  whom  you 
had  great  hope,  fallen  back  again  into 
the  slough  of  sin,  succumbed  to  the  lure 
of  vicious  company,  become  enmeshed 
in  the  net  of  former  bad  habits.  For 
some  years  past  I  have  given  this  mat- 
ter— which  must  concern  me  very 
nearly  as  the  pastor  of  a  great  diocese 
— long  and  serious  consideration.  It 
has  seemed  to  me  that,  when  the  girls 
left  the  shelter  of  your  roof  to  begin 
again,  unaided,  the  battle  of  life  in  the 
world,  the  results  might  perhaps  be 
more  lasting,  if  their  good  resolutions 
were  backed  up  by  some  pecuniary 
help.  Surely  no  sensible  person  can  ex- 
pect you  to  give  them  that  help,  for 
your  institution  is  heavily  debt-laden, 


340  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

and  is  costly  to  run,  while  the  County 
pays  you  but  thirty  cents  a  day  for  each 
girl  that  is  committed, — a  mere  pit- 
tance goes  but  a  short  distance.  The 
labor  that  the  girls  perform  (and  it 
would  certainly  be  unwise  to  leave  them 
without  employment)  is  generally  crude 
and  rather  poorly  paid.  To  meet  this 
need  and  to  provide  that  help,  I  would 
propose  the  following  plan: — First;  let 
every  girl  be  selected  and  trained  for 
the  kind  of  work  for  which  she  is  best 
fitted  by  experience  or  intelligence — 
whether  this  be  needlework,  fine  sew- 
ing, fine  laundry  or  plain  laundry-work 
— and  a  market  be  found  therefor. 
Second ;  let  every  girl,  as  far  as  possible, 
be  put  on  piece-work  for  which  she  is  to 
receive  a  commensurate  wage,  the  same 
again  to  be  graded  according  to  the 
character  of  the  work  and  the  price  it 
brings  in  the  open  market.  Third;  at 
the  end  of  each  working-day,  let  every 
girl's  wage  be  computed  and  entered  by 
the  forewoman  in  charge  of  this  part  of 
the  work.  Fourth ;  at  the  end  of  every 
week,  to  the  amount  contributed  by  the 
county  for  each  girl's  keep,  let  her 
wages  be  added,  deducting  a  proper 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  341 

amount  for  her  board,  clothing  and 
other  expenses — the  amount  remaining 
to  be  entered  in  her  own  bank-book, 
which  will  be  held  in  safe-keeping  for 
her,  as  may  be  determined.  Fifth ;  this 
money  on  deposit  is  not  to  be  paid  tq 
any  girl  until  she  is  about  to  leave  the 
institution:  she  cannot  give  it  to  an- 
other or  purchase  anything  with  it  dur- 
ing her  stay  in  the  House  of  the  Good 
Shepherd,  for  reasons  I  shall  give  later. 
Sixth ;  in  the  case  of  any  girl  committed 
fto  the  institution  because  of  frequent 
lapses  into  inebriety,  and  for  whom  the 
money  might  prove  more  of  a  tempta- 
tion than  a  safeguard,  on  leaving  the 
institution  arrangements  can  be  made 
to  have  the  Court  appoint  a  custodian 
or  guardian  of  this  money. 

Finally,  I  wish  to  be  distinctly  under- 
stood that  I  am  not  binding  the  Sisters 
to  any  arrangement  from  which  they 
can  not  later  on  recede,  for  if  they  do 
not  receive  additional  help  from  else- 
where it  is  perfectly  clear  that  they  can 
not  carry  out  the  plan  outlined  by  me 
and  on  their  present  very  meagre  in- 
come provide  for  the  care  and  mainte- 
nance of  their  vast  institution.  It  is 


342      PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

for  that  reason,  dear  Mother,  that  some 
time  ago  I  asked  you  to  study  out  this 
compensation  idea  and  let  me  know 
what  would  be  the  additional  cost  to 
pay  the  number  of  girls  who  are  now  in 
your  charge  according  to  the  plan  I 
have  outlined.  You  then  informed  me 
that  it  would  entail  an  additional  ex- 
penditure of  five  hundred  dollars  each 
month,  or  an  extra  annual  outlay  of 
six  thousand  dollars — quite  a  large 
amount  of  money.  However,  I  consider 
this  work  to  be  of  so  great  importance 
for  the  saving  of  souls  and  bound  to  be 
of  so  much  benefit  to  the  city,  as  well  as 
to  the  individuals  affected,  that  I  am 
willing  to  add  to  my  already  numerous 
charities,  even  under  present  war  con- 
ditions, one-half  of  this  sum  as  my  own 
responsibility. 

So,  as  my  Christmas  gift  to  the  chil- 
dren of  the  House  of  the  Good  Shep- 
herd, I  am  sending,  together  with  this 
letter,  one-half  of  the  sum  guaranteed 
by  me  (namely,  fifteen  hundred  dol- 
lars), a  similar  sum  to  come  a  few 
months  later,  so  that  the  plan  as  above 
outlined  may  go  into  effect  on  the  first 
day  of  the  New  Year.  Surely  some 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  343 

generous  souls,  especially  among  our; 
women,  will  provide  you  with  the  rest, 
since  I  have  given  them  the  example 
and  shown  them  the  way.  The  best  and 
the  surest  way  of  providing,  however, 
would  be  for  some  one  who  is  desirous 
of  piling  up  treasure  in  heaven,  where 
it  cannot  be  lost  or  stolen,  and  of  erect- 
ing a  monument  more  lasting  than  uni- 
versities or  libraries — a  monument  built 
of  human  souls  forever  safe  in  the  arms 
of  the  Divine  Shepherd — to  give  a  trust 
fund  of  a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  the 
income  from  which  would  practically 
take  care  of  this  part  of  your  work. 

I  anticipate  splendid  results  from  the 
introduction  of  this  system.  In  the  first 
place,  I  think  you  will  find  that  the  girls 
will  more  gladly  stay  with  you,  be  more 
diligent  and  cheerful  while  they  are 
with  you,  and  often  really  sorry  to 
leave,  if  they  realize  that,  under  your 
protection,  they  are  working  for  them- 
selves and  that  every  penny  that  they 
earn  will  be  added  to  the  nest-egg  that 
will  steady  and  strengthen  them  when 
they  return  to  the  world  where  the  very 
want  of  money  may  previously  have  led 
them  into  temptation.  Every  girl  that 


344      PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

has  been  with  you  for  a  sufficient  time, 
if  she  has  been  careful  and  industrious, 
will  be  leaving  with  a  sum  sufficient  to 
provide  her  with  quite  good  and  com- 
fortable clothing,  to  pay  her  board  in 
some  respectable  house  and  locality 
until  she  obtains  suitable  employment, 
and  to  leave  her,  in  addition,  a  few  dol- 
lars safely  tucked  away  in  the  bank  for 
the  proverbial  rainy  day.  When  she 
leaves  you,  she  will  take  with  her  more 
than  her  good  resolutions.  She  will 
have  money  to  back  them  up.  And 
should  she  fall  again — which  is  not  so 
likely — want  would  not  be  her  excuse. 
Finally,  besides  benefiting  the  children, 
it  will  benefit  you.  While  they  are  with 
you  there  will  be  more  of  a  spirit  of 
cheerfulness  and  satisfaction  prevail- 
ing amongst  them  and  when  they  leave, 
I  think  you  will  more  often  find  your 
efforts  crowned  with  temporal  and  spir- 
itual success.  K  will  serve,  too,  to 
silence  forever  those  who  have  not  hesi- 
tated to  accuse  us  of  profiting  finan- 
cially by  the  labors  of  these  girls. 

Before  concluding  this  letter,  I  deem 
it  wise  to  meet  an  objection  that  will  be 
raised,  the  objection  that  preference 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS  345 

should  be  given  to  the  needs  of  the 
poorly-paid  working-girl,  who,  alone  in 
a  great  city,  must  skimp  and  save  to 
purchase  the  bare  necessities  of  life  and 
to  pay  the  room-rent  in  a  bleak  board- 
ing-house, while  sighing  and  praying 
for  the  company,  the  comfort  and  the 
conveniences  in  a  Catholic  atmosphere 
that  so  often  are  offered  to  her  under 
non-Catholic  auspices.  To  her — and 
there  are  many  like  her  in  this  big  city 
— I  can  simply  say  that  I  am  not  un- 
mindful of  her  needs,  and  that  I  hope 
the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  such  a 
hospice  will  be  built  here  in  Chicago  as 
an  abode  of  comfort  to  our  working- 
girls  and  a  source  of  pride  to  us  all. 
God,  however,  must  first  move  the 
heart  and  hand  of  some  man  or  woman 
of  wealth  to  help  us  make  this  possible, 
for  to  do  it  will  mean  not  only  to  pay 
for  a  suitable  building,  conveniently 
situated,  but  to  some  extent  at  least  to 
endow  it,  as  we  could  Hardly  expect  it 
to  be  entirely  self-supporting.  But  your 
work  must  be  encouraged  and  assisted 
first.  Your  children  are  spiritual  con- 
valescents, leaving  the  Hospital  after 
recovering  from  a  serious  illness.  We 


346  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

must  help  them  for  a  little  while  until 
they  can  walk  on  the  sometimes  rough 
and  stony  paths  of  life,  until  they  have 
again  got  their  bearings,  until  they 
have  found  and  returned  to  work. 

Moreover  to  you,  Mother  dear,  and  to 
your  Sisters,  as  in  like  manner  to  me, 
the  mission  the  Master  has  given  is  first 
to  go  after  the  weak,  the  strayed,  the 
fallen:  our  'duty  is  to  nurse  them  back 
again  to  health  and  life  and  innocence. 
With  this  as  our  object  we  must  use 
every  means  at  our  command  and  em- 
ploy any  helps  that  will  make  that  work 
of  saving,  of  healing,  of  reformation, 
lasting.  In  this  way  do  we  follow  in  the 
footsteps  of  Him  Who  said,  "I  am  not 
come  to  save  the  just,  but  sinners." 
(Matth.  IX:13.)  But  to  the  young  girl 
in  the  world  who  toils  and  struggles, 
whose  life  is  so  devoid  of  pleasure,  often 
barren  of  comforts,  who  stands  alone, 
but  who  has  withstood  temptation,  who 
keeps  herself  in  God's  grace  and  her 
soul  in  purity  and  innocence,  to  her  I 
would  address  the  words  of  the  Master 
— the  words  addressed  by  the  Prodigal 
father  to  his  elder  son:  "Daughter, 
thou  art  always  with  me,  and  all  I  have 


PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS      347 

is  thine;  but  this  thy  sister  was  dead 
and  is  come  to  life  again:  she  was  lost 
and  is  found."  (Luke  XV  :31  and  32.) 

When  in  the  early  hour  of  the  Christ- 
mas morn  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem  again 
comes  down  from  heaven  and  rests  on 
your  chapel  altar,  when  He  stretches 
out  His  tiny  hands  to  all  who  there 
kneel  about  Him,  to  your  Sisters,  to  the 
Sisters  Magdalen  and  to  your  children 
whom  He  loves  so  dearly,  in  that  mo- 
ment, when  He  is  so  kind,  so  generous, 
do  you  ask  Him  to  watch  over  this  city, 
this  diocese  and  its  people.  Pray  to 
Him  especially  for  those  who  have  wan- 
dered away  from  Him,  whose  eyes  are 
blinded  by  pleasure  and  whose  hearts 
are  hardened  in  sin,  that  they  may  re- 
turn to  Him  Who  came  on  that  first 
Christmas  day,  "that  they  may  have  life 
and  have  it  more  abundantly."  (John 
X  :10.)  Pray,  too,  for  the  clergy  of  this 
diocese  and  their  archbishop,  that  the 
Good  Shepherd  may  keep  them  all  faith- 
ful to  the  end,  that  among  them  all  no 
one  will  be  found  a  hireling  on  that  last 
day,  that  we  may  all  be  numbered 
among  those  over  whom  the  angels  of 


348  PASTORALS  AND  LETTERS 

heaven  rejoice  even  more  than  over 
those  who  have  no  need  of  penance. 

Sincerely  yours  in  Christ, 

^GEORGE  WM.  MUNDELEIN, 
Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


